Mass Effect: Restitution
by CoyoteN7
Summary: Garrus Vakarian's team was betrayed and slaughtered on Omega...all but one. He goes by Victor Price, a Quarian who was raised away from the comforts of the Migrant Fleet for reasons unknown. As he joins Commander Shepard's fight against the Collectors, the web of lies surrounding his life begin to burn away, and his existence could divide the Quarian race in their defining hour.
1. Prelude

**Prelude**

 **Vallhallan Threshold, 2162**

 **The** _ **Rayya**_

Hallway lights rushed past him above, his booted feet pounded on the metal floor, and the air filters in his helmet worked at max capacity. He was running.

In his _home_.

The Migrant Fleet was all he had ever known, and even his pilgrimage didn't do enough to tear him away from that fact. He loved his people, their culture, their energy, their _home_. It was truly everything he'd ever wanted.

The bag around his back shifted opposite to the sway of his running, and it was soon followed by the crying of an infant child. It only enticed him to run faster.

Some things were worth more than a home.

Boots pounded heavily as he passed another hallway, and shouts in vain soon followed as multiple armed, Quarian men chased him. Primal instinct kicked in as he ran faster, and his legs became lighter even with the thick environmental suit encasing him.

 _No one_ was taking his child from him.

The corner he was looking for rounded his vision, and he quickly shut the blast doors behind him. Another male Quarian blasted the control panel to pieces with a shotgun, forcing security lockdown.

"We don't have much time," the armed Quarian stated, grabbing the other's arm and began running again. The other attempted to keep up, but the toll on his body from the long and mostly adrenaline-influenced run was beginning to take hold. His eyes panned up and noticed the small hangar bay with only a few medium-range fighters waiting for them.

The armed Quarian stopped, and the other bent over in relief, the crying of the infant resonating through the hangar. He took the bag off his back and pulled a small bubble from the inside, revealing the Quarian infant squirming in terror. Attempting to calm it, he dropped the backpack and held him in both arms, looking down at its purplish skin and glowing, yellow eyes.

"Ebon, please," the armed Quarian grabbed his arm. "We need to get you out of here." He had to nearly drag Ebon to the cockpit, his attention fixed on his son.

"Keelah, what have I done?" he worried, shaking his head as he placed the bubble onto the co-pilot seat.

"The right thing," the armed Quarian assured him as he helped get the ship up and running. "Your son's future does not belong with the Migrant Fleet, not as long as his mother is aboard."

Ebon shook his head back into action, taking the pilot seat and getting his bearings for the controls. His breaths were slowing down as he remembered what he was doing this for, and his eyes panned back to the co-pilot seat where the infant lay.

The armed Quarian flicked one last switch and the engine roared into life. "Head straight to the Mass Relay, don't stop for anything. It will take you to the Omega Nebula, and there you and your son can disappear."

Ebon nodded in acceptance, feeling the flight handles in his three-fingered hands. "Got it," he replied.

The armed Quarian nodded and began to exit, but Ebon shouted, "Rael…thank you!"

"Fly safe Ebon'Tal vas Moreh. I promise I will find you again, and if not you…then your son," Rael'Zorah finished before running back to the loading ramp. " _Keelah se'lai!_ "

Ebon nodded and engaged flight once Rael had cleared, leaving the Rayya…and the Migrant Fleet behind.

* * *

 **From the writer of** _ **Star Wars Eons**_ **…**

 **CoyoteN7 presents…**

 **MASS EFFECT: RESTITUTION**

 **Omega Nebula, 2185**

 **Omega**

Turians were built to last, and his enemies knew this. Yet, they continued to file down the boulevard, watching as the freelancers in front of them bit the dust after a loud _bang_. Each shot he took was expertly placed with lethal accuracy, and the receivers never knew what hit them. To approach his balcony was suicide.

Archangel had set up his encampment atop the second story of a small building in the underworld of the Omega Station. His few years of work as a benevolent vigilante had earned him his name, and the attention of the three major mercenary gangs. One by one, the Blood Pack, Blue Suns, and Eclipse all placed him at the top of their kill lists…the bounty for his head lifechanging.

Killing the idiots charging him was easy, but he wasn't sure if he had enough ammo or energy to keep this up forever. He pulled the lever on his M-92 Mantis to free the spent thermal clip and took a deep breath before looking over his cover again. The keen eyes he possessed behind his helmet spotted movement to his left behind a stack of boxes. With a tight breath he aimed and fired, a perfect headshot. Like clockwork, he ducked back behind his cover and prepared to repeat.

Commotion sounded below on the bottom floor, and he could feel the vibrations of someone running up the stairs. Preparing for the worst, he dropped his Mantis and grabbed his pistol from the holster around his waist, aiming at the top of the stairs. A figure appeared, and Archangel dropped his aim as he realized who it was.

A masked Quarian ran into his encampment and collapsed to the floor, dropping a submachine gun in the process. His three-fingered right hand covered his hip as he crawled to Archangel's side behind cover.

"Ugh!" he groaned in pain, trying to stop the blood oozing from a smoldering hole in his dark blue armor.

"What the hell happened Victor?!" Archangel questioned as bullets impacted their cover.

Victor shook his head as he fought the pain shooting through his body. "Ahh! I was holding downstairs just fine until a Vorcha found its way behind me. Son of a bitch stabbed me in the side!"

Archangel growled in frustration. "Are you going to get sick?"

There was a pause in the conversation, and Victor's glowing eyes could be seen shifting behind the black tint of his helmet. "N-no, I'll be fine Boss. No time to worry about that now!" He then reached back for his Tempest sub-machine gun and gripped it into his free hand. "I'm gonna pump these fuckers full of bullets for that!"

Before Victor could pop back up, Archangel yanked his arm back down. "Stay down dammit!" he ordered. "I'm not letting the last member of my team throw his life away!" He could tell Victor was considering objecting, but was relieved to see him decide to back down.

"Alright Boss, I'll watch your six. Make those bastards pay for every inch they gain!" Victor conceded, and grunted once again as he gripped his wound. Behind his aggressive façade, the wound was taking its toll on him, stacked on top of the hours they had spent camped in this building. Steadily, his vision was getting blurrier by the minute.

"I…I don't believe it," he heard Archangel say, and then it was followed by a stoppage of gunfire. Victor's senses came back to him in that moment.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked, unable to see. Archangel pulled his gun down and turned back towards the stairs, and three figures came into view. Victor's eyes narrowed, and one symbol on two of those figures was the first thing he saw.

Cerberus.

His right hand was off his wound and in the grip of his Predator pistol in seconds. "Boss! These bastards are-,"

"Calm down Victor," Archangel eased, taking a seat on the cargo boxes nearby. At first, Victor was confused, but at second glance he noticed a clean set of gray armor with the N7 logo engraved on the chest. The face was undeniable…at least it was close to what the boss had described.

"I'm guessing you're Archangel?" the man asked, his two companions staying behind him. Archangel nodded and pulled his helmet, dropping it to the floor.

"Shepard," he acknowledged. "I thought you were dead?"

Shepard's eyes and smile widened. "Garrus!" he shouted, spreading his arms out wide. "What are you doing here?"

Garrus chuckled, but the exhaustion was clear on his face. "Keeping my skills sharp…a little target practice."

"You okay?" Shepard asked with concern for his old friend.

"Been better, but it sure is good to see a friendly face," Garrus replied with a hint of assurance. "Killing mercs is hard work," his head then turned over to Victor, who still had his eyes fixed on Shepard's companions. "Especially with my only ally injured."

Shepard keyed in on the downed figure, and quickly realized his irregular body shape…and the wound he was trying to cover. "Jacob," he called to one of his Cerberus companions. "See what you can do about his wound." The African American male in Cerberus uniform nodded.

"I'm on it," he complied, and attempted to approach Victor, but was met with a pointed pistol.

"Back off!" he warned.

"Victor!" Garrus shouted. "We don't have the time or resources to be choosey! Besides, you can trust Shepard."

Victor was still hesitant, his eyes flashing from Garrus, to Shepard, and then back to the Cerberus officer holding medigel in his hand. Eventually, he lowered his gun and sighed. "Fine." While Jacob tended to Victor's wound, Shepard continued to converse with Garrus.

"So how the hell did you get all three of the worst mercenary groups in the Terminus Systems to want you dead?" he asked.

Garrus shook his head. "It's a long story. It took a _lot_ of work."

Shepard nodded, looking back to Victor. "Is your friend a Quarian?"

"Yeah," Garrus acknowledged. "Goes by Victor Price, kind of an odd name for a Quarian if you ask me. Says he's been on Omega for as long as he can remember, and his father died when he was only eight years old."

"He's never been to the Migrant Fleet?" Shepard asked with shock in his tone.

"As far as I know, no," Garrus confirmed. "And I've never really bothered to ask why. I found him a year back at Afterlife defending an Asari woman from a Batarian."

Jacob wrapped up the quick fix and backed off as Victor slowly rose to his feet.

"Let's just say the man knows how to fight. Kind of a hardass sometimes, but has good intentions so I brought him on board. He's loyal once you earn his respect," Garrus finished, trying to keep it between them.

Shepard knew Garrus better than most, and if the turian trusted someone, then they at least deserved a chance. He held out his hand to Victor. "Right now, we can't afford to be picky, so welcome aboard."

Victor limped over to shake his hand. "Commander Shepard…the boss has told me a little about you. Glad to meet you."

The woman behind Shepard shifted. "With all due respect, he's not on any of the dossiers, so I'd reconsider taking him on the mission."

"No one's talking to you sweetheart, so just sit there and be quiet," Victor retorted, but earned a slight elbow from Garrus.

"Enough," he ordered, and Victor rolled his eyes in annoyance, returning to the outlook with his submachine gun.

Shepard turned back to her. "I understand your concern Miranda, and we'll cross that bridge later. Right now, we need to focus on getting out of here alive." Miranda nodded obediently, but the Quarian was already getting on her nerves. Nonetheless, Shepard continued to talk converse with Garrus.

"How do you plan on getting out of here?" he asked.

Garrus shook his head and sighed. "I don't know Shepard…I've lost a _lot_ of men today. If it wasn't for you three, Victor and I would probably be dead by now," he hesitated as the memories came back to him, but eventually found the strength to compose himself. "But now I think we might be able to take our chances and fight our way out."

"Sounds good, but-," Shepard started, until the sound of a running engine roared through the room.

"Gunship!" Victor shouted, ducking behind the overlook for cover.

" _No one messes with me and survives Archangel_!" the intercom sounded from the vehicle before the minigun began to rotate and fire. Bullets ripped through the room, barely missing Shepard, but landing direct hits onto Garrus' shields. The sheer amount shattered his shielding like glass, and blue blood splattered onto the floor before he could hit the deck.

Victor grabbed ahold of his hand and pulled him behind the lip. "Hang in there Boss, I've got you!" Garrus' breathing was getting sharp and desperate, and Victor's eyes told Shepard enough.

"Miranda and Jacob, I need suppressing fire!" he ordered, pulling his grenade launcher from his back. "I'll try to line up a few shots!"

"On it!" Miranda acknowledged, popping over her cover to put a few distraction bullets into the gunship. Jacob followed suit, and the annoyance drew the minigun away from Shepard's direction. Taking his chance, Shepard rolled out of cover and launched two grenades out of the building, praying it would be enough.

Both impacted perfectly and erupted in a brilliant ball of flame as the thrusters overloaded and sent the gunship spiraling below. Taking a breath, Shepard returned the launcher to his back and ran to Garrus' side, whose blue blood covered where he and Victor had ducked to cover.

"We need to get him out of here!" Victor urged.

"Hang on Garrus!" Shepard assured. "We're going to call the shuttle. Victor, you're coming with us!"

"Commander!" Miranda protested.

"That's final! Now, come on! Garrus doesn't have much time!"

* * *

 **Hello everyone, and welcome to my first Mass Effect story! I'm going to be doing a lot of experimenting with this, especially since the rest of the story is going to be in first person from Victor's point of view. I tried to leave a lot of questions about my OC that will be answered in the next chapter (which is over 5,000 words as of now), so be on the lookout for that! If you enjoyed this chapter, please follow/fav and leave a review! Feedback helps me immensely, so I'd appreciate it if you'd leave something! Thanks for reading!**


	2. The Warning

**The Warning**

I'll admit it, the _Normandy_ was not what I expected. I had my reserves against serving on a Cerberus vessel, but credit needs to be given to the designers…because they knocked it out of the park.

Shepard put me in engineering, working the drive core, which, to be honest, is about all I'm good for aside from combat. If living my entire life on Omega taught me anything, it's how to fix things…and kill it if it can't be fixed. Dad made sure of that.

I miss him sometimes, when I'm working the console alone especially. He taught me how to survive in the harshest space station in the damn galaxy, and it's a shame a damn suit rupture killed him when I was only eight years old. All I could do was sit there at his bedside, my "improvised" Quarian helmet separating my face from the real world. He told me to be strong, survive…and don't ever trust a Quarian that isn't named _Zorah_ …or whatever the fuck that's supposed to mean.

Avoiding Quarians was easy on Omega…well because there weren't any, besides that merchant guy that washed up a year back. Poor bastard. I doubt the guy will last more than a couple more months in that shithole.

Shepard came by a few times to check on me, asking me questions like why I'd never been to the Migrant Fleet. I told him the same thing I'd told the Boss.

"Dad said to never trust Quarians…and well…there's your answer."

Shepard didn't seem to like my answer, clad in his casual Cerberus clothing, the drive core _whirring_ in the background. He crossed his arms. "What confuses me the most is why your father died from sickness, and somehow, over 15 years alone you never suffered the same fate."

I wanted to say something smart, but then I remembered who I was talking to. This man was the "Hero of the Citadel" and "Slayer of Sovereign" …but to be honest I didn't know what any of that meant. It was all just rumors that spread around Omega.

Then the truth about me hit, and I'll be honest, I almost told him straight up right there. My eyes shifted a bit, and I cursed them for being so visible through the blue haze of antibiotics. Eventually however, I decided to keep the façade that served me for so long…at least for now.

"Luck is its own weapon Commander," I replied, trying to keep my stance straight and confident. If I'd been talking to a real Quarian, they'd probably just call me out for the untraditional suit and know what my bloody secret was just like that.

Shepard shrugged, seemingly dropping the subject. "I guess you're right, carry on Victor."

"Commander," I acknowledged, hiding my relief as I returned to work. Like I said…luck is its own weapon.

"Oh!" Shepard seemed to remember, making me jump in worry. "Garrus told me you've never seen a female Quarian before."

I grimaced at another sad truth about my sorry life. Respectfully, I turned back with my hands placed behind me. "That's correct, Sir."

He got a grin on his face that made me worry already. "I'll let you know when we'll be able to take care of that for you."

I didn't really know what to say, since I was feeling extremely excited and terrified at the same time. Barring that, I kept it simple. "I'd appreciate that Shepard, if you don't mind."

It wasn't _that_ pathetic, but I'd truly only seen _pictures_ of female Quarians, which, now that I think about it, is actually pretty pathetic. Going through puberty or the "hormone stage", as Mordin calls it, really sucks if there's not a _single_ female from your _own race_ on an entire station. This forced me to improvise, but true love doesn't exist on Omega, simply put.

Shepard left me alone after that and didn't come back down for some time. I could tell he still wasn't completely comfortable with taking me into the field, so my information came through mess hall meetings with the Boss, even with half of his face messed up.

"Just call me Garrus, Vic," he corrected as we sat together in the Crew Deck, plates of our special dextro-protein rations in front of us. "Besides I'm not your boss anymore."

"Fine, _Garrus_ ," I complied, but still rolled my eyes, and once again forgot that spotting a Quarian rolling their eyes is easier than fooling a Vorcha. "What have you guys been up to?"

The Turian nodded in acceptance towards the name change. "Shepard's keeping his cards close right now, so he's only been taking Ms. Lawson and I on the Illusive Man's assignments thus far…although I can tell that even Miranda makes him a little nervous…I'm guessing it's the Cerberus uniform."

Hearing that pissed me off. Miranda just _loved_ kissing up to the damn Commander and giving me dirty looks…and it was working. Fuck that bitch.

I broke off a piece of the protein construct that I barely considered "food" with my fork. "I don't blame him. From what I've heard Cerberus doesn't go along with his values."

Garrus nodded as I ripped a straw from its wrapping, preparing to insert it into my mouth through the helmet. "I think you're probably right. The scientist Mordin seems trustworthy, but his combat skills are a little lacking."

"What can you expect from a Salarian doctor?" I replied as I stuck it through the port and began to slurp up the bits I had created. My mouth almost instantly rejected it, but I forced it down my throat. "Fuck, that shit's nasty."

I could see Garrus struggling to contain his laugh. "Watching a Quarian eat is comedic on its own."

My glowing eyes narrowed as I glared at him. "Go to hell."

"Go to hell…," he started, and I knew what he was getting at.

"Boss," I finished before he started eating with no trouble. Frustration was beginning to take me over, and I almost ripped my mask off just to down the shit before I lost my mind. Truthfully, I could've, but that would mean I'd have to explain my "condition" to Garrus, and I still wasn't ready yet.

Truth is, my exile isn't as mysterious as I make it seem. The suit I wear is just there for show, and to keep myself off the grid. If word got out that a Quarian with a strong immune system existed, you can be damn sure I'd be tracked down by the entire Migrant Fleet within a month.

So yes, that's my secret, I don't need my bloody suit.

Dad never told me why, but I'd have to guess it was some kind of birth defect stacked onto my time spent on Omega. God, now that I think about it, my immune system must be invincible with the shit I had to wade through in that vermin hole.

That's beside the point. My father told me to do everything in my power to avoid the Migrant Fleet, and I'm going to honor that…but if that _Zorah_ showed up however, then things would be different…maybe. Other than that, assume hostilities from the Quarians.

Garrus and I kept talking, or more like he got more laughs from me struggling to eat, until our plates were clean.

"Watching you eat reminds me of Tali more than anything," Garrus eventually brought up as I pulled the straw from my helmet. "She and I didn't always get along because of the whole "Quarians released the Geth" thing, but she's a hard person to not like."

I sat back in my chair, finally able to relax from the strenuous task of eating. "No offense, but you act like I'm supposed to know who that is."

"Well for starters, she's a Quarian," he began, and I tried to hold in my sudden interest, but I could see a small smile forming over his face as he noticed. "She was on her Pilgrimage thing when we were going after Saren; pretty good with a shotgun and a damn good technician."

"A shotgun?" I asked. "Interesting." I personally preferred my Tempest and Viper, so getting close was not as much of a necessity.

"Yeah I don't get the appeal either," Garrus agreed. "But she always looked out for other people; putting her interests aside for the sake of the mission." I noticed his eyes pan down in thought, and assumptions were already jumping through my mind. Since this was a friendlier setting, I decided to bring them up.

"Did you and her…," I started, and then made gestures to finish the point. Garrus smiled and shook his head.

"Oh no, it wasn't like that, trust me," he confirmed, and I was inclined to believe him with the confidence he displayed. "It was just…things I'd said to her that I regret…that's all."

Our conversation died out in that moment, losing the laid-back friendliness it held. Garrus returned to calibrating the main gun, and I found myself stuck alone in engineering once again.

* * *

A few weeks passed, and more people began to show up as Shepard's missions continued. Some crazy biotic human now camped out below engineering who apparently had worse language than me, which surprised me at least. It was something I prided myself in before I started working with the b-…Garrus. Working with him had given me a better sense of respect, so I had decided to cut down on it.

Can't say I've had much success so far.

The other was a Krogan, and tank-bred at that. Garrus told me something about having "perfect genes" or whatever. I grew up on Omega, so a diverse crew was nothing new.

I never cared to get either of their names, mainly because I was letting my frustration get to me. My finger was itching to feel a trigger in its curl, and my heart was missing the rush of real action. Instead, I continued doing engine core checks and console work that was starting to drive me insane.

Apparently, I had missed out on fighting the Collectors on Horizon, which was some human colony on the fringes of Alliance space. Garrus filled me in on the enemies they had faced, especially dealing with the seeker swarms that had been abducting human colonies across the galaxy. Hearing about it only made me more anxious to join the fight.

When the day came in which I was about to scream in frustration, Shepard came by for a visit. It had been half a month since he had last visited, so I was a little rusty greeting him, especially since I was busy twisting a few nobs tightly under my console.

"Victor," I heard him say. "What are you up to?"

My current mood wasn't helping, so I was in no rush to get up. "Just finding screws to tighten, Shepard." I didn't even look to see if it was really him, keeping my eyes fixed on my hand as I twisted the ratchet continuously.

"I see," he replied. A moment passed before he continued, and his presence was actually beginning to frustrate me. "I'm going to need you to suit up."

My hand came to a stop, and the ratchet hit the ground. I was up on my feet before I even realized it. "Of course, Commander, I-I'll get right on it."

"Good," he nodded. "Be at the shuttle as soon as possible."

"Yes sir." He then began to walk away, but my curiosity took over. "Uh," I started, and his head turned back. "Where are we going?"

"Haestrom."

As he headed for the elevator, I felt my heart sink. Haestom was Geth-controlled, and that usually meant Quarians weren't far behind, especially if Shepard was being called to it.

But right now, my itch for a fight overrode my father's warning.

A part of me knew I would regret it.

* * *

I felt like I knew Shepard from simple interactions on the _Normandy_ ; a heroic, selfless crusader for galactic justice, yet calm and laid-back in his own odd combination. His actions established a reputation as a man who could be depended on when it mattered most, and willing to risk everything for the betterment of others.

I've never been so wrong in my life.

As soon as that shuttle touched down on Haestrom…it was all business. Shepard is a lethal killing machine to say the least. One by one, Geth units were riddled with bullets from his Avenger assault rifle, and Garrus and I were struggling just to land a few shots. The initial area was cleared within a few minutes.

I returned my Tempest SMG to my waist, barely even through the first clip. Sweat was already dripping down my masked face, and I quickly realized how horrifically hot it was planet side. The three of us were covered by shade at the moment, but I could spot smoke rising from sun-bathed ground ahead of us.

"Try to stick to the shade," Shepard acknowledged before I could bring it up. "EDI says our shields will overload if we stay in the light too long."

I wanted to see for myself, so I walked to the edge and stuck my hand out into the light. Beeping and warnings from my shield gauge instantly set off, and I could see the hexagonal layer of shielding trying to beat back the solar rays from my gloved hand. After I had had enough of the beeps I pulled my hand back into the shade.

"Yeah, it'll burn the living shit out of you," I confirmed, watching my shielding return back to being invisible.

"Doesn't look like we have anywhere else to go right now," Garrus warned, pointing to the exposed bridge in front of us that held the only way forward. I could hear Shepard lightly sigh due to his lack of options, and I couldn't blame him.

"Just run through it quickly. Your shields can survive moderate exposure," he concluded, and suddenly began to sprint through the sunlight.

"Are we really-," I started.

"Just go!" Garrus urged and did the same. Reluctantly, I broke off into a run, the massive sun in the sky blasting its rays into my vision. About halfway through, my gauge was screaming for a cooldown, which made me desperately pick up the pace.

I was not going to die from a sunburn on my first fucking mission.

Eventually, I made it to the shade where Shepard and Garrus were waiting, allowing the horrific beeping to cease and my shields to recharge. I hunched over, breathing hard from the effort since my "improvised" Quarian suit was still bad at getting air into my lungs.

"Let's keep moving," Shepard pushed on, making his way towards the closed gate in front of us. Not wanting to embarrass myself further, I straightened back up and breathed as discreetly as possible. Garrus seemed to maintain a close pace behind the Commander, so I followed suit as we made a turn for the gate's outpost.

As we stepped inside to find the gate control, I quickly noticed the body of a dead Quarian, and my father's words were already echoing in my mind…my eight-year-old eyes fixed on the light on his helmet, flashing with every word he coughed out.

 _You're going to be alright son…you're…stronger…than you look. Stick to the shadows…find allies…keep yourself safe._

 _Don't ever trust a Quarian. Your gift…could get you…into trouble. Trust no one…unless…their name…is…Zorah. Promise me…son._

"Victor?" I heard Shepard's voice in the background of my flashback, bringing my mind back to the real world. He was staring, his weapon held across his body, and Garrus looking on from behind. "Are you alright?" he asked.

I shook my head, frustrated with myself. "Y-yes Commander, I'm fine," I hoped he would just let it go, but he didn't seem convinced.

"I thought you'd be a little more excited to see more of your people, even despite your trust issues," he questioned, one eyebrow raised.

 _Dammit_ , I cursed to myself. All I had to do was stay focused. Too late now…time to start cranking out the bullshit excuses.

"It's just a little overwhelming, that's all," appealing to pity usually worked in this kind of situation, especially on someone colder than most. They'd usually just call you pathetic and forget about it.

"Alright," Shepard accepted, and began to walk out of the outpost and through the newly opened gate. "Try to stay focused. We need to get to Tali."

"Wait," I realized. "Tali…like the Quarian you told me about Garrus?"

"Exactly," Garrus confirmed. "She's cooped up in a bunker surrounded by Geth, so speed is going to be the key."

"Couldn't have said it better myself Garrus," Shepard smiled, leading the two of us through the gate and into the next area.

The next 15 minutes' worth of ground we covered was sparsely populated with Geth units. We still had to keep to the shade to avoid more death sprints like before, but the cubical architecture was very useful in creating large pockets of shade. It was funny…Garrus was complaining about the heat more than I was. Just one of the benefits of wearing a suit full-time was all the amazing accessories you could add…like micro air conditioning for example.

Getting through the next area was a little more difficult; requiring some demolition charges to blow a fallen pillar to hell. On top of that, I got to take down my first Geth Hunter…damn bastards think they're so sneaky. They paid for their oversight with a quick Overload from my omni-tool and at least 25 bullets from my Tempest. I also got a chance to pull out my Viper sniper rifle, you know, to take out Geth before Shepard could see them and blast them to pieces.

The bunker we entered from behind the pillar was littered with Quarian bodies, which, I'll admit, was starting to make me feel an inclination to mow down more Geth. It didn't last however, as the unknown factor of what they'd do if they saw me still lingered. Even so, I found myself looking over one of them, his green suit ruined by splatters of his own blood and others'. I was so in thought I didn't notice Garrus come up behind me.

"I probably know you better than anyone alive," he started. "But I don't believe for a second that you see your people dying and feel nothing."

His comment cut deeper into me than I was ready for, and frustration conquered logic with ease. "They _exiled_ me Garrus!" I lashed out, my glowing eyes slanted in a glare as I faced him. "Why should I feel anything?!"

My shouting caught Shepard's attention away from looking for a path forward. "Exiled? You never said anything about being formally exiled," he inquired.

Garrus shook his head. "No, that's impossible Victor. The Quarians don't exile children; they simply don't have the resources nor can their population afford it. There's just _no way_."

I did my best to qualm my frustration before I compromised everything about myself, but to no avail. By now Shepard and Garrus were both staring me down, probably questioning my loyalty as a whole.

" _Hello? Come in base camp. Is anyone there?_ " a female voice played in the back from the communicator, making both Garrus and Shepard quickly look back. Whoever it was, their voice was enough to take them both off the subject of interrogating me.

Shepard rushed over to the holographic projection of a female Quarian. "Tali! It's Shepard," he called in. I was just relieved that they had left me alone before I spilled the _real_ reason I feel I was exiled.

"I'm sorry for intruding into your private life Victor…but it just doesn't make any sense to me," Garrus apologized, which I respected.

"It's fine. I'll get over it."

"I'm sure you will," he added, before making his way over to the communicator with Shepard. I didn't follow. The last thing I needed was more questions.

Impatiently, I waited out the conversation, just anxious to keep moving and get off this planet. That part of me that knew I would regret this mission was constantly saying "I told you so", and I couldn't come up with a viable excuse to deny it.

"Just hang tight Tali, we'll get to you as soon as we can," Shepard finished before ending the transmission. He pulled his Avenger from his back and dumped the used clip. "Let's move."

"Right," I acknowledged, and followed him and Garrus out the now unlocked exit.

We were immediately met by plasma cannon fire, knocking bits of a large wall down on us. Frantically, we looked around for cover before the next blast followed.

"Over here!" a Quarian called a ways forward, and we dashed for the cover he had acquired. I plastered my helmeted head against the low concrete wall, and almost immediately plasma bullets whizzed above us. Shepard knelt next to the Quarian, and I could make out their conversation over the cannon fire.

"My name's Kal'Reegar!" he shouted. "I'm the only one left!"

"Are you injured?" Shepard asked, and I peeked over to spot a small rupture in his suit. My teeth grit instinctually as something primal forced me to look over our cover. 25 units…at least…and a Geth Colossus stood in between us and the bunker.

"A small suit rupture, but I closed the wound and I'm swimming in antibiotics! I'm not going to let a sickness kill me in the middle of a battle! That's just insulting!" Kal answered, still shouting over the noise.

Another cannon blast hit, knocking more debris on top of us. I must've shifted enough to grab Kal's attention, because he suddenly wasn't interested in talking to Shepard anymore.

"Hey soldier!" he shouted in an angry tone. I took me a second, but I eventually realized he was shouting at me. "Where the hell have you been?! Our orders are to protect Tali'Zorah at all costs! You'd better not have run away!"

I was going to retort violently, but what he said finished translating into my brain.

"He's not one of yours…," Shepard cleared up.

My eyes widened.

"…he's with me!"

 _…unless…their name…is Zorah…_

Kal narrowed his eyes. "What do you…"

"We need to get to that bunker Shepard!" I burst, taking them both by surprise. There was at least five seconds of absolute silence before Garrus nudged me.

"We _know_ Victor," he clarified, as if what I said was obvious.

I frantically shook my head. "No, no, no you don't understand! We _have_ to get to Tali!"

Kal'Reegar took one look at Shepard and then back to me. "Who are you, soldier?!"

I grit my teeth, "I'm not-," and then lost my mind. I was too close…too close to getting some real _answers_. All my life I've lived away from my people, and acted like I'm not one of them. When I felt a slim hope that that had a chance to end…I took it.

" _Fuck this_!" I shouted, wrapped my three fingers around my mask…and pulled. Fresh air rushed into my lungs as I breathed heavily and hopped over our cover, guns blazing. Shepard was shouting for me to stand down, but I ignored him.

I was doing this _my_ way.

Five Geth units went down before I took cover from the Colossus on the far side, doing its best to obliterate me with its cannon. It was freeing to be able to take breaths unobstructed at last, and the surplus of air was already speeding up my reaction time.

It seems my perception was still off however, because Shepard and Garrus caught up to me quickly. Shepard gave me one of the scariest looks I'd ever seen, but it seemed to fade once he saw my face exposed. The light purple skin and yellow-ish eyes must've taken him by surprise, because he seemed to lose his anger quickly.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" he shouted over a cannon blast.

"Put your mask back on!" Garrus urged. "You're going to die!"

"I don't need it!" I denied, dumping a used clip from my Tempest. "Shepard, I need your Arc Projector!"

His eyes motioned towards the heavy weapon on his back in confusion. "Why?!"

"The Colossus is a synthetic! If I lace an overload with a blast from your Projector, it should be enough to fry that fucker to hell!" I explained.

He seemed a bit hesitant, but eventually reached back for it. "Alright, but you're telling us _everything_ after this is over!"

"Damn right you are!" Garrus agreed.

"We get to Tali, and I'll be able to tell you a lot more!" I confirmed, taking the heavy weapon from Shepard.

"We'll clear out the Geth for you," Shepard offered. "You just focus on getting a shot!"

I let the Arc Projector unfold in my grip, and its targeting interface sparked to life. "Got it!" With that, Garrus and Shepard popped over our cover and unleashed hell. Geth units dropped like holographic bowling pins as the bullets erupted from each of their barrels before they were forced to take cover once again. The Colossus fired, just barely missing Garrus after he had taken cover. Using the time it would take for it to reload, I hopped atop my cover and aimed the weapon. The intense electrical charge built as I held the trigger and readied my Omni-tool.

Shepard took down the last Geth Hunter and shouted, "Now!"

My Omni-tool charged, and the targeting interface lit up like Afterlife. "Burn, you son of a bitch!"

I smacked the Projector as soon as the charge leapt from the firing chamber, impacting the Colossus faster than my eyes could even begin to track. In brilliant fashion, the intense electrical burst overloaded the synthetic being and combusted, exploding into millions of metal bits.

Shepard raised his gun in the air. "Ha ha! Great shot Victor!"

Quickly, I jumped down from the concrete block and ran towards the bunker at the end of the area, throwing the Projector into Shepard's hands on the way. My legs carried me faster than I had ever imagined, and I was at the door in seconds…only to find it locked.

" _Hang on just a second_ ," her voice sounded from the speaker above me. " _There, try it now Shepard_."

I didn't care who she thought I was…I _had_ to make sure this woman was alright.

The door now opened with ease, allowing me to hastily rush inside. There she was…clad in a black suit with light purple cloth around her legs and over her head…working at a console. It took me a moment, but I was eventually able to find some words to say.

"Tali'Zorah?" I asked. She didn't seem to take notice that I was unfamiliar.

"Just one sec-," she started, but I'm guessing her ears kicked into gear and realized that a complete stranger had walked in behind her. She turned, revealing a purple mist covering her face, and only eyes that pierced through it.

They instantly widened upon seeing me. "Who are…what are you…," she suddenly rushed in my direction. "Are you crazy?! Put your mask back on!"

"Yeah," I heard Garrus call from the entrance, and a glint shone in the corner of my eye, allowing me to catch my mask that he had thrown at me. Tali came to a stop once she had recognized Garrus is seemed, and all I could do was look down at the clear mask in my hands. "Put your mask back on…or would you like to tell us what's _really_ going on here?" he finished with crossed arms and a glare.

"Enough," Shepard intervened. "Victor performed a little out of line, but he got the job done. He can explain himself on the _Normandy_."

I shook my head before returning the mask to the rest of my helmet, letting the blue haze cover my face once again. "No, Garrus is right Commander. I should've just told you the truth from the start."

Shepard waved it off. "We'll worry about it later," he then turned to Tali. "Are you alright?"

I could see her eyes flashing in my direction every couple of seconds, and it was just making me feel more embarrassed each time. "Y-yes I'm fine, Shepard…just ready to get out of here," she then finally turned away, heading back to the console to finish what she had been working on.

Garrus wouldn't even look at me, and I didn't blame him. The more I thought about it, the more I regretted keeping the whole thing a secret. He was a soldier, and trust was one of the values he stressed the most when he was Archangel. We had worked together for a year on Omega along with many others, but I survived because I followed his direction…because _I_ trusted him. Consequentially, he trusted me more than ever after that event.

So, I get it if he's upset I never told him that I might be the bloody future of the entire Quarian race.

"What's going on here Tali?" Shepard asked as she wrapped up her work. "I know about Haestrom's sun, but what was so important that Quarian lives had to be sacrificed for it?"

Her shoulders drooped as she closed the console, and a long sigh followed. "I don't know Shepard. A _lot_ of people died today…most of them were my friends," her glowing eyes slanted downwards. "That damn data better be worth it."

"You didn't lose _everyone_ , ma'am," Kal'Reegar revealed himself, his hand pressed on his hip.

"Reegar!" Tali exclaimed. "You made it!"

"The Commander's as good as he said," he chuckled, motioning towards Shepard. He then turned towards me, and I braced myself. "And his friend's one crazy bastard. Ripped off his mask and everything…but cleared the way for us nonetheless."

The entire atmosphere of this encounter was awful. I just wanted to hide; run off to Omega and disappear all over again. Things were so much easier.

Tali walked back in my direction. "I was going to ask about that. We need to get you out of here and scanned before you get sick."

I shook my head, crossing my arms. "I don't get sick."

Kal was already back on my case. "Just because you _believe_ -,"

I did my best not to snap again and start more fires…I had enough to put out with Garrus…but I was done explaining myself. Time to just let it out.

"Look at me!" I presented my suit to the two of them; the ragged dark blue rag that was my "hood", the unorthodox Quarian helmet scrapped together from Terminus armor, the worn black jumpsuit covered in scratched armor that covered my body, and just the overall lack of beauty that it possessed. "Do I look like a Quarian?"

I watched both pairs of eyes scan what I wore…and noticed no objections. "My father took me from the Migrant Fleet before I could even speak, and I've spent my entire life _on my own_ ," My hand reached up and pulled my mask off once again. They both started to object, but I took a deep, loud breath right in front of them. "I can't imagine why."

" _Keelah_ ," Tali gasped, her hand covering where her mouth should be.

Kal's eyes widened. "We need to take him back to the fleet as soon as possible. The Board will want to see him!"

"Now hold on!" Shepard intervened. "He's a part of my crew, and he's not going anywhere unless it goes through me!"

"Shepard's right," Tali acknowledged. "Besides, we have no idea why his father would raise him away from the Fleet."

My heart sank. "Wait…so you-," I started, but figured it wouldn't make any sense to her. Shaking my head, I started over. "Right before my father died, he told me never to trust a Quarian…unless their name was Zorah," Tali was taken by surprise, and looked as if she didn't know what to say.

 _She doesn't know anything._

"I guess that would mean me…but…I don't…I'm sorry," she apologized.

"So that's why you hopped over the barrier," Shepard pieced together, and I could hear Garrus grumble in frustration.

Kal shook his head. "Look…I need to get patched up. The operation is yours Tali'Zorah, so the decision to report him to the Fleet belongs to you."

Tali nodded. "Thanks, Kal. You go on back to the fleet, but I'll be transferring to the _Normandy_ with Shepard."

"Alright ma'am, it was nice meeting you Commander," he acknowledged.

"You too Reegar, stay safe," Shepard replied, and Kal made his way out of the bunker to catch a shuttle. That left the four of us, and I was beginning to feel the trials of this mission taking its toll on my body.

"Can we leave now, Commander?" I practically begged.

Shepard nodded. "I'll call the shuttle. We'll sort all this out on the _Normandy_."

Relief flooded my mind, but dread was quickly on the horizon for the shitstorm I would have to traverse in the next few days.

No one said my life was easy.

* * *

 **This is the longest chapter I've written in a long time, and the first time I've tried first person. I actually find it easier to write than third since I get to focus in depth on one character. If you enjoyed, please follow/fav and leave a review! Thanks for reading!**


	3. The Modern Myth

**The Modern Myth**

Did I say shit storm? I meant shit hurricane.

Tali's briefing became my detainment and licensed Cerberus interrogation. _Everyone_ was crammed in briefing room just to see me; the krogan Grunt, the biotic Jack, my angry old boss, the salarian doctor, the other Cerberus guy, and Miranda, the Illusive Man's certified, rage-inducing, walking bitch-fit.

I stood in the very back with no way to escape, just alone, with Commander Shepard across from me and Tali slightly behind him.

The silence was driving me crazy. "So," I started. "What do you want to know?"

Shepard crossed his arms with a patient look…for now. "When were you going to tell me I had a Quarian with a strong immune system on my ship?"

"Honestly, I didn't plan on it," I admitted. No reason to lie anymore.

"Why not?" Shepard's patience faltered for a moment.

I sighed in frustration, my energy already drained from the previous mission. "Because why the fuck does it matter? Suit or no suit I can still shoot just as straight."

Shepard seemed to not like my answer, but kept his patience. "Victor, we're going up against impossible odds, and if I have people on my team I can't trust, then what good are they?"

My defensive demeanor dropped after he said that. I knew he was right, but this still felt bigger than the mission…this was _personal_. He was asking me to surrender one of the most private aspects of my essence, so a logical military justification wasn't going to cut it this time. One way or another, he was going to have to work for it.

"You can trust me Commander," I assured. "I just didn't feel comfortable revealing a closely held secret to a bunch of strangers…especially _Cerberus_. Think about it…a pro-human _terrorist_ group acquiring a quarian who doesn't need his enviro-suit," I shook my head. "and especially after their little 'incident' with the Migrant Fleet, that's grounds for a galactic war!"

Tali nodded. "He's right. Cerberus already threatened the safety of the fleet once. If they heard about this, the Admiralty Board would most likely vote for action."

"It was hardly a threat," Miranda downplayed defensively. "We only attempted to retrieve one of _our_ assets under your custody."

"And somehow dozens of our people were murdered in the process," Tali retorted, shooting a glare in her direction.

"Enough," Shepard commanded with a raised hand before turning back to me. "Ok, you've justified your reasons for not telling us, but I still want to know the truth."

I nodded. "Sure, I'll tell you everything," My eyes then paced around the room, seeing the faces I barely knew. "But I'd rather it be just you and Tali," Garrus and I met eye-to-eye, and the look on his face said it all. He was going to hear this out. "And Garrus."

"Fair enough," Shepard agreed, to my relief. "Crew, dismissed."

The room cleared out, and Garrus made his way to Tali's side. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure if I was ready to tell my whole story…I'd never told it to _anyone_ …but I owed at least Garrus as much, Shepard was my Commander, and Tali…well…she's a quarian, and the friendliest person on this bloody ship right now.

When the door shut, Shepard nodded. "Let's hear it."

I told them everything; my father's last words, life on Omega, 6 years as a vigilante, small dealings with Aria T'loak, speculation on my father's name (which I still don't know), and how I met Garrus…nothing I haven't told myself. It was…freeing…to be honest; not something I expected.

"…and then you found us, Shepard…that's all," I finished. By now, Shepard had leaned back against the table, Tali was sitting on it, and Garrus looked much more satisfied than he did 10 minutes ago.

Shepard nodded. "You've had quite the upbringing, Victor…thanks for telling the truth. I know it wasn't easy."

I shook my head. "It had to be done. One way or another you were going to figure it out," I tried to lighten the mood with a chuckle.

"You're probably right," Shepard agreed with a smile of his own. "Garrus…do you have anything else you'd like to ask him?"

He shook his head, and a wave of relief flooded my mind. I imagined we still had some more repairs to do, but it was good to see some sort of acceptance from him.

Garrus cleared his throat. "Now, I'd probably better get back to calibrating that damn gun," he pointed back towards the door. "Come by when you get a chance Victor."

"Will do," I agreed.

The Turian walked out with a nod, saying, "It's good to have you back, Tali," as he went through the door and out of site.

Shepard scoffed. "That reminds me, welcome to the team Tali," he remembered and shook her hand. She took it with ease, but seemed to still hold reserves.

"Good to be back with you, Shepard," she started, but then crossed her arms. "But I'd like to talk to you about Cerberus sooner rather than later."

I could tell Shepard was slightly annoyed, and I'd be as well if everyone was questioning my motives, but there was a heavy aura of trust emanating between the two. "Sure, I'll get to you when I can," he agreed. "In the meantime, maybe Victor can get you set up in Engineering?"

"Yeah!" I suddenly stood straight and instantly regretted it. My want to get the hell out of the briefing room, stacked onto some instinctual quarian reproductive urge made me react instead of think…so there I was…standing up like an excited, horny idiot. "I mean, sure thing Commander," I tried to clean the embarrassing situation up.

Shepard's eyebrows popped for a moment before he headed out. "I'll leave you two to it."

Ah, so here comes something far more terrifying than active combat; something that cannot be taught, but learned through countless failures and the process of elimination. It grips the heart of every man with a cold grasp of fear, shaking even the toughest to their core until piss begins to run down their leg.

The fantastic art of speaking to women.

And good lord am I bad at it.

I usually find myself observing them from head to toe first, which already is a bad way to start conversation with a complete stranger, and then struggle with basic words like "what" and "hello". Thus, I usually preferred the added supplement of alcohol to make myself much more social than usual at the expense of my judgement…which can sometimes end worse…but it's still funny to look back to.

Tali was different than some girl on Omega, and that was apparent within the first five seconds of silence between us. Not only is she far more refined and accomplished, she's fucking intimidating. She felt like the beautiful girl at academy whose overprotective dad could snap you in two with his fingers…except in this case _she_ was her own dad.

I was just glad I had my mask on to cover the panic on my face. Thanks Commander, yeah, I appreciate it, leaving me hanging like this.

She shifted, leaning back on the briefing table. "I-uh…don't know what to say…meeting someone like you…with your condition I mean."

 _She's nervous too._ Confidence poured into me, feeling back in control of the situation.

"Me too," I said, but then realized how little sense that made. "I mean…yeah."

This was going nowhere. I had to find a way to get my immune system out of our minds…something funny, or embarrassing?

 _No…do I really want to admit that? You know what…fuck it._

"You know," I started, a grin she couldn't see forming over my face. "You're the first female quarian I've ever met."

She cocked her head. "Really?! Well, I'll do my best not to ruin them for you."

I laughed. _Now we're getting somewhere_. But, just to be clear, I wasn't trying to _hit_ on her…at least not yet. I still have no idea how Shepard would feel about that.

"You're doing fine," I assured her, and she chuckled.

"Thanks."

* * *

Tali and I clicked well in Engineering, and it was great to finally have someone to informally talk to on a daily basis. Engineers Donnelly and Daniels were amusing to listen to as I worked, but not so much to talk to, being regular humans and all. Not very many crazy experiences to relate to.

Despite all the sudden chemistry, we kept our respective distance naturally. Deep down, I still wasn't sure if I should be interacting with a quarian, in fears that she may one day decide to report my discovery to the Migrant Fleet. She did not, however, record my actions in her report to the Admiralty Board on the Haestrom mission, so major trust points were already earned in that case.

Unfortunately, I knew it was only a matter of time until they would figure it out anyway. Kal'Reegar would eventually slip up and tell someone, or if Shepard had some sort of business with the Fleet, and I would not be able to hide any longer. At least I would be able to understand completely why my father ran away…or I could be murdered for some sinister purpose.

Either way, it just didn't seem worth it.

I waited a day before I headed up to the Main Battery to talk to Garrus, who probably just wanted to clean up whatever mess still piled between us. Worry still gripped me as I entered his enclave, however, but I knew Garrus was a reasonable man. The door opened to reveal him hunched over in the back of the various equipment, tending to the main gun's systems.

"Still calibrating?" I greeted with a chuckle.

Garrus still remained hunched over, his voice muffled from where I stood. "No better place to be," he replied. Eventually he stood up straight and turned towards me, grabbing a rag to wipe his hands with. "How is it sharing Engineering with Tali?"

I leaned up against a work table and cross my arms. "You were right," I said, shaking my head. "She's a hard person not to like."

Garrus scoffed. "Don't tell me you've already started hitting on her."

I kept my cool and shrugged my shoulders. "Just restating what you told me Garrus, nothing more."

"Uh-huh," he mumbled skeptically. "We'll just see."

I knew Garrus would be taking a stab at this; it was nothing new. He was always playing matchmaker with me, mainly because I'm too "uptight" and "should live out my young years to their fullest" …not that I think he's wrong, but there are more important things to worry about, especially with the Collector threat.

A sigh made its way out of my mouth. "So, you wanted to talk, right?"

Garrus nodded, throwing the rag back onto the work bench he had grabbed it from. "Yeah…apologize actually." He then leaned up against the bench and looked towards the floor, seemingly in thought.

I was surprised he thought he should apologize, because I sure didn't feel like he needed to. "What do you mean?" I asked him.

He looked up and met my eyes; sincerity never being more certain. "I was selfish on Haestrom. The way I reacted was uncalled for."

I shook my head. "No, Garrus, it wasn't."

His hand raised, and that's when I realized that there was more to it than that. "No, you don't understand Victor," he started, then slowly turned away with a sigh. "You remember Sidonis…right?"

I scoffed. "That traitorous bastard who tried to kill me? Damn right I do."

He paused again before continuing. "When I found you back at that compound, hidden away just as I asked, I thought I had you all figured out. It was in that moment that I realized I'd found a comrade who I could depend on in virtually any situation. Think about it…a hot-headed, renegade Quarian with no past was willing to _hide_ while those mercenaries murdered the rest of his team."

The memories returned quickly, especially since I had left this part out of my story to Shepard. Lying there in a storage compartment, listening to the gunshots through the door as my teammates were executed. Flashbacks of my father's death plagued me in that moment…so frightened…so helpless. I stayed there for what felt like an eternity before Garrus ripped open the door in the place he had told us to hide.

I was the only one loyal enough to deny my will to fight and go along with a cowardly plan…that ultimately saved my life.

I shook my head as I tried to forget it again. "I still don't see why you should apologize."

"On Haestrom…when you told us about your…condition…it shattered my reality. It showed me how truly little I knew about you, and I reacted harshly…as if I deserved to know your every secret," he then walked towards me until he was only a few feet away. "And that's not fair."

It was inevitable, and I knew he wasn't going to let it go, so I nodded my head and said, "It's alright Boss. I know you didn't mean anything by it."

He smiled and held out his hand, and I was relieved to feel this whole incident finally begin to wear down as I shook it. "Thanks Victor," he said. "Well, I'd better get back to work, and I'd imagine you should get back to swooning Tali," he chuckled.

 _Good lord,_ I thought. My glowing eyes rolled through the haze of my helmet. "Whatever you say Garrus."

* * *

Weeks flew by much faster on the _Normandy_ , and I could also say that I've been much happier as well. Shepard's trust in me was much better, which translated to more mission selections. This made way to developing a tighter bond with the rest of the crew, namely Grunt, who seemed to approve of my more renegade-favored tendencies. The Krogan was violent as hell, but hilarious at the same time, which seemed to click well for me.

Tali was quickly selected for multiple missions as expected, since Shepard's trust in her was well beyond that of anyone aside from Garrus…but there was more to it than that. Every time he'd walk by or come to talk to her, she'd become instantly elated, barely able to hold herself together sometimes. The conversations we would have in Engineering would often lead to his name being mentioned in some form.

I'd seen this kind of behavior before, but spending so much time with her made it easier for me to come to a formal conclusion: she liked him. It was obvious she wanted to be more than friends, and yet she'd never bring it up to him.

When I discovered this at first, it just made me chuckle…as if I didn't care. But, as more time was spent between us repairing the drive core, or working the console…I found myself grimacing or sighing to myself when she'd speak with him during regular visits.

Was I getting… _jealous_?

No…no not me…and definitely not over a quarian who had exiled me from my peoples' home…but I knew that excuse was bullshit. Tali was different…and to be honest, she was making me rethink what my father had told me. For the first time in my life, I was beginning to consider heading to the Migrant Fleet…just to see for myself.

But not now, of course, not for a few years at least. There's just too many unknowns. I had no idea who or what would be waiting for me there, so staying away for now seemed like the safe bet.

Fate seemed to have a different agenda.

We had just exited Illium's orbit after a successful recruitment of a drell assassin named Thane Krios and an asari justicar known as Samara. While Shepard briefed them in the Briefing Room, I was returning to my station in Engineering, expecting to meet Tali in the middle of a repair or refinement.

I entered through the door and removed my compacted weapons from their holsters, preparing to toss them under the console I worked at after a long mission. Breathing ship air crossed my mind, so I was debating removing my mask as the weapons smacked onto the metal flooring. Eventually I decided against it because…well…it didn't seem fair for Tali.

My eyes panned around the initial area, and quickly noticed that no one was there, not even Donnelly and Daniels. I figured they may be off doing work in the shuttle bay, but not seeing Tali shortly after takeoff was odd. She doesn't attend recruitment meetings, mainly because she didn't want to give Cerberus the idea that she was committed to them in any way.

Since I couldn't see the Drive Core, I turned down the hallway, and sure enough, there she was…but she wasn't working. She was just…sitting there…with her arms wrapped around her knees, and a data pad in her hand.

"Tali?" I asked, confused. She didn't look up or say anything, so I picked up the pace until I was only a few feet away. Her eyes were fixed towards the floor, unmoving even as she saw me. "Um…I'm back."

Still, no movement. She might as well have been dreaming where she sat. I could feel myself getting frustrated, and didn't control myself enough to dial it back. "What's wrong with you?" I asked, crossing my arms.

Finally, she shook her head. "I don't know. I _really_ don't know."

I could hear it in her voice. She was distraught, confused, and in shock all at the same time, and I quickly realized that my tone had to change. Taking a knee to get to her eye level, I continued, "Hey, talk to me," I urged, but then trained my eyes on the data pad she held in her hand. Tali's arm shifted, and soon she was handing it over to me.

The data pad displayed a message…from the Migrant Fleet.

 _Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya,_

 _You are hereby ordered to return to the Liveship Rayya as soon as possible to stand trial against formal charges of treason. Due to the potential sensitivity of the possible crime, we are unable to provide you with any further details. If you do not return to the Migrant Fleet after 1 galactic month, you will be tried in absentia, and will be facing exile._

 _We await your arrival._

At first, I was shocked that someone as passionate for her people as she would ever be considered for treason…but the larger implication hit me like a blizzard on Noveria.

"No," I gasped as the data pad hit the flooring. My legs held my weight as I stood, both hands over where my mouth should be. "Did I…is this because…did they find out?"

Tali's head shook in shame. "I…don't know."

I had never felt so guilty in my life. Even if there was no confirmation…if _I_ had been the reason for _her_ exile I would never be able to live with myself.

"This…," I started before I picked up the data pad and returned to one knee. "Tali…this is bullshit. I've only known you for a month, but I know you'd never betray your people… _our_ people," I corrected myself, trying to key at comradery. It seemed to work for a moment as her glowing eyes met mine. "If they're really saying you betrayed the Fleet by…sheltering me or _whatever_ …then I will turn myself in."

Her eyes widened. "Victor, no…your father-,"

I shook my head. "I'm not going to let you be _exiled_ just because my father told me to never trust my own bloody _race_!" I was back on my feet, feeling my anger at the situation mount. "My father is dead, and I'm not going to let a dead man's words stop me from defending my only quarian friend! No…no Tali, we're going back to the Fleet, and I'm turning myself in. I'm sick of running!"

She stood in defiance. "We don't know what the admirals want from you! Victor, if your father told you not to trust your own race, then it _had_ to be for a good reason!"

"I don't care!" I retorted. "I'm not going to let you take the fall for me Tali! I can't!"

Suddenly, she firmly grabbed my shoulders, and words could no longer form in my mouth. Her eyes looked straight into my soul, and I felt terrified to even shift in her grip.

"Victor," she reiterated. "We don't know what they're charging me with. No one said it's because I didn't report your discovery to the Fleet."

Her voice was like a sedative in that moment. My muscles relaxed in her grip, and I could feel my heartrate slow back to normal. I took a deep breath. "Ok…you're right," I then lightly grabbed her forearms and held them in front of me. "We'll figure this out, I promise."

Tali nodded. "We will."

I sighed as I let go of her arms. "EDI?"

" _Yes, Mr. Price?_ " the _Normandy_ 's AI responded.

"Call Commander Shepard down here. He needs to hear this."

After that moment, I knew my life would never be the same again.

* * *

 **This chapter was shorter than the last one, and that should be expected. I know I'm doing a lot of skipping through the Mass Effect 2 events, but I feel that those should not be retold if nothing different happens. This story's main drive is Victor and** _ **his**_ **experience and the battles that** _ **he**_ **faces aside from the Collector threat. A lot of this story will take place on the** _ **Normandy**_ **, like this chapter for example.**

 **I'm not expecting more than 3 or 4 more chapters with this story, but I want to make them longer than what I usually put out, so I'm expecting a chapter a month as I deal with college work as well. I'll do my best to keep up with that schedule.**

 **If you enjoyed, please follow/fav and leave a review! Thanks for reading!**


	4. A Beautiful Lie

**A Beautiful Lie**

"Treason? Really?" Garrus asked, sitting across from me in the Crew Deck mess hall, his dextro-matter untouched on his plate.

"Really," I confirmed. "They wouldn't even tell her why."

The turian's eyes just stared unblinking for a few seconds as his mind processed the information. It eventually broke with a gasp. "I-I can't believe that. How's she taking it?"

I shook my head, already recalling the event that only happened a half hour ago. "About as good as you can hope for someone like her. Shepard's talking about it with her right now," my own dextro-matter "food" lay wiggling on my plate, and I was not in the mood to pull out another straw. "I thought I'd give them space."

Garrus was still sitting still, his hands folding together in front of him. "You don't think-,"

"That's _exactly_ what I think," I answered, groaning in frustration as I ripped the front of my helmet off, letting the "for-show" gas escape. Garrus gave me a funny look, probably still not used to seeing my face. "I'm not using another fuckin' straw."

He raised his hands defensively. "I'm not going to judge." I nodded as my three fingers wrapped around a fork and severed a large chunk of the white matter on my plate, and then satisfyingly swallowed it whole.

I chuckled while I chewed. "I've been waiting to do that for _so_ long."

"Victor," Garrus said in an urgent tone. "You're not _actually_ considering going _with_ her, are you?"

" _Garrus_ ," I returned the favor. "I'm _not_ letting her be _exiled_ just because she was trying to protect _me_. My father's warning can go to _Hell_."

"As far as you know, _that's_ what you'll be walking into when you get there," he replied.

" _I don't care_. I'll _turn myself in_ if that will clear her name."

Garrus quickly realized that he wasn't going to change my mind, so he leaned back and focused on eating his untouched food. Eventually, a smile formed. "That's noble Victor…and pretty _cute_."

I shook my head. "I'm going to personally rip your mandibles from your head," I lashed out, but struggled to keep a straight face before we both began to laugh. After we finally settled down, Garrus cleared his throat.

"Just be careful. Something about this smells wrong."

* * *

I was feeling pretty confident about my decision, and I kept assuring Shepard that this was what I wanted. The thought of Tali being exiled from the only home she'd ever known…it was too much to think that it'd be my fault. This _had_ to be done.

And then the Fleet was in the cockpit viewport.

The _Rayya_ , the ship we were ordered to dock with, was the largest mobile starship I had ever seen, and maybe the more proper term would be _moon_. Tali had told me that 17 million quarians lived throughout the entirety of the fleet, and I was now beginning to believe it.

Joker brought us in slow, and once we were hailed, I felt myself harbor doubts. I paced away from the cockpit, shaking my head vigorously. Shepard, who was fully outfitted with his helmet, grasped my shoulder as I passed him.

"Victor?" he asked.

I sighed as I came to a stop, feeling my body temperature rise, and sweat began to cover my masked face. "I-," I started. "This was a bad idea."

Shepard scoffed. "You're telling me the quarian who ripped his mask off and charged a Geth Colossus thinks _this_ is a bad idea?"

I chuckled, already feeling the joke having a calming effect on my mentality. "I guess you're right," my head began to nod, and I turned back towards the cockpit, my arms confidently crossing. "This is pussy shit."

Shepard slapped me in the back. "I was wondering where Victor went," he nodded. "You're scared?"

I nodded in agreement. "Shitless."

"We'll get through this. You've got nothing to be afraid of."

My head shook as my eyes locked on Tali, feeling the guilt of the situation return. "I'm not scared for me Commander…I'm scared for her. I just…I don't want…,"

"Anything bad to happen to her?" he finished for me, and I couldn't read what he meant by that, so I stupidly assumed as my stance straightened back up.

"I'm sorry…I won't get in the way of you two."

Shepard's eyes narrowed behind his N7 helmet as he shook his head. "No…no _carry on_ ," he said before slapping me in the back again, this time much harder.

"Ow," I grimaced as he made his way to the airlock, the entire ship shaking as it finally docked. While I rubbed the pain from my back, Tali somberly made her way to me.

"Ready?" she asked, her tone already having a hint of defeat.

"As I'm going to be," I replied, and then shook my head. "Besides, I should be asking _you_ that."

Her head drooped and a heavy sigh followed. "I don't know…I guess we'll find out," she finished before walking past me to the airlock, and I followed suit.

It was time.

Shepard pressed a button on the airlock door, and it was followed by the panels jerking open initially, but eventually slowly opened. Shepard lead us through the door and into the docking hall, and I could feel my old life escape my soul in that instant. Whoever I was on Omega was gone forever. No longer could I live a life in isolation, away from my own race. Entering this ship officially made that impossible…and I embraced it.

We turned to corner to find a platoon of quarian soldiers waiting for us, albeit barely rising to their feet. I had never seen a laxer detail in my life…and based off that, they couldn't have possibly known I was coming. If they did…well then they'd probably be more prepared to keep me here if I tried to run…or something like that.

That meant that she was being charged for something else…and I didn't know if that was either better or worse.

The leader met us as we officially stepped foot onto the ship. "Captain Shepard," he greeted. "Tali'Zorah has told me a lot about you. I wish we could be meeting under more pleasant circumstances."

Shepard shifted as began to feel more uncomfortable. If _I'm_ not the reason…

 _Then I just exposed myself for nothing_.

"…I'm no longer in the Alliance Military at all," Shepard finished.

I could feel myself beginning to panic, and the pleasantries were driving me insane. I just _needed_ to know.

As the guard was reciting something, I jumped in, "Look, this is all very nice of you, but we need to know why the fuck you're charging Tali with treason!"

"Victor, control yourself," Shepard said sternly, and I didn't have to look at Tali to know she was glaring at me, but in this moment, I really didn't care.

"Who the hell are you?" the quarian squad leader scorned, his eyes running up and down my suit. "And what idiot put your suit together?"

I could see the other guards looking at me, making subtle comments of their own, but I ignored them. Crossing Shepard was not exactly favorable to showing up a couple of joking quarians.

"We'll talk about him _later_ ," Shepard urged as I backed up, crossing my arms. I flashed a look at Tali, who looked as if she was going to savagely rip me to shreds. Keeping my mouth shut now seemed wise. "What are the charges being pressed against Tali?"

The guard was still fixated on me, but he eventually looked away to my relief. On Omega I would've already ripped his mask off and left him choking to the Vorcha for his comments on my suit…and his peanut gallery…well I'd have shot the cocky bastards dead a minute ago.

"Tali," he started. "They're charging you with bringing active geth into the Fleet as part of a secret project."

 _Shit._

Tali's eyes widened as she stepped forward. "That's insane! I never brought active geth aboard. I only sent parts and pieces!"

This was all for nothing. Not only was I _not_ the reason for her charges, but I'd been stupid enough to make a few quarians aware of my existence. They still believed I was an insignificant wash-up, but nonetheless…the Fleet had my image…and they'd figure out who I really was eventually.

However, I still could turn this to my advantage…or more like _Tali's_ advantage. If I could get quarians talking about _me_ more than _her_ …then _maybe_ they'd just forget about whatever she might've done. It was extremely unlikely that this would work…but why not give it a shot.

"Pardon my ignorance," I blurted out again. "But why does that go under treason?"

The guard's stare seemed to go blank on me, seemingly in utter disbelief at my comment. He eventually turned back to Shepard. "Who exactly is your crewmate, Captain?"

"No really," I pushed, stepping forward. "What's so bad about the geth?"

Gasps of shock ripped through the room we were in, and I could see the guard flinch towards his rifle. "They drove us from our _homeworld_! They drove _you_! How could you say such a thing?!"

"Did they?" I questioned, and then dropped my ignorant demeanor.

"Victor, enough!" Shepard ordered, holding his hand out in front of me, but I ignored him.

" _You quarians_ drove me from _my_ home!" I shouted, my finger pointed. "You monsters exiled my father and I when I was barely an infant! How _dare_ you hold yourselves above the _geth_!"

Shepard was pushing back on me now, his frustration threatening to melt my flesh from my body at this point. The guard signaled his men. "Maybe we should charge _you_ with treason!" Their weapons were raised, and suddenly Shepard turned on the defensive, preparing to stop them from taking me in.

"Stand down!" a female voice sounded behind the guards, and her word forced them to cease hostility almost instantaneously. Whoever it was…they were of power.

The guards cleared away, and through them stood a black-dressed female quarian, who then made her way towards me.

"Admiral," the guard acknowledged as she passed. "He was-,"

"Get back to your bloody post Captain Danna, you've done enough," she spat in an accent I'd never heard before.

"Yes ma'am," he replied, and rounded his men up, but shot a glare in my direction before disappearing down the hall.

The quarian admiral turned her attention back to us, barely able to keep her eyes off me. "I apologize Commander, I hope he did not cause you any unnecessary grief."

" _Actually_ , he was doing fine," Shepard half-growled. "It was _my_ crewmate that instigated the whole thing."

I knew he'd be angry with me, and that was fine. I'd attracted the attention that I wanted. Everything else didn't matter.

"Admiral Xen?" Tali recognized.

"Yes, Tali'Zorah," she smugly replied, and then turned her attention back to me. "You said you and your father were exiled…care to tell me how long ago this occured?"

My eyes flashed from side to side, debating whether or not I wanted to tell her…but eventually my overwhelming desire for answers took over.

"23 years," I answered.

Xen's eyes flickered behind her mask as she blinked, seemingly processing the information. Suddenly, her eyes fixed on me, and her arms dropped to her sides. "Impossible," she gasped. "I never thought…"

"Wait," Shepard stepped in. "You know him?"

Xen crossed her arms, almost offended. "Of course I do," she spat, looking back to me. "His name is Kibo'Xen nar Rayya…and he's my son."

I'm pretty sure my mind blanked out for a moment, because I don't remember the next few seconds very vividly. My ears were working fine however, and the influx of voices that came next were difficult to distinguish. Tali said something like "impossible", but Shepard stayed silent initially, and then asked for some kind of clarification.

Another memory of my father kicked in.

 _Your mother died in childbirth, son…I'm sorry._

"…ou already have a daughter, Admiral. You're not allowed to have more than one child," I caught Tali say as my mind kicked back into the real world.

"My mother is dead," I said in denial. "My father-,"

" _Your father_ ," Xen laughed, which was beginning to get under my skin. "Is that what he told you? Choking on Omega, dying for nothing?"

Normally, I would've lashed out in retaliation, but the shock of her knowledge of his death grabbed my curiosity. "How do you-,"

"You don't honestly think I'd let that craven coward escape my sight only one Mass Relay jump away?" she snapped back. "Absolutely not. I knew he took you to Omega, but crossing Aria T'Loak and her army of mercenaries wasn't worth the risk…especially since no one is aware of your…gifts."

Spitting on my father's name was something I never took lightly, and if Shepard had not brought up Tali's trial…the Migrant Fleet might've been voting on another Admiral tomorrow.

"Listen, we came here for Tali, and while this is all very interesting, I'd like to have that addressed first," Shepard intervened, holding his hand up.

Admiral Xen nodded. "Of course, Commander. It's taking place just down this hall and to your right," she then went on ahead without a second look back. Once she was gone, I felt a firm grip on my shoulder and I was suddenly up against the nearby wall.

Shepard was furious. "Are you out of your damn mind?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

I honestly didn't know what to say. The thought that my father may have lied to me in all 8 years that I knew him made it impossible to come up with a valid excuse…and the way Xen acted around me…disrespecting my father, calling him a liar…and yet she couldn't care less that I had returned.

Something else was going on here.

"You need to control yourself," Shepard urged after receiving complete silence from me. "This isn't about _you_."

When I realized he wasn't going to let me go until I said something, I replied, "Sorry."

Shepard the let me go, but kept a stern look. "If you do that again I'm sending you back to the Normandy, clear?"

I shook my head. "Commander…you and I both know that's no longer an option."

Tali sighed and tried to pull Shepard off me. "He's right. Admiral Xen knows who he is, and right now he's a valid cause for war against anyone who harbors him."

He must've realized it or just decided to take that prospect seriously, because his frustration faded in an instant after that. "Come on," he said, returning his focus. "We need to get this trial moving," before he signaled the two of us to follow.

"Thanks," I said to Tali as we made our way.

"Just shut up," Tali spat back at me. "You've done enough already."

I didn't object. Pissing Shepard off didn't really affect me, but seeing Tali as angry as she was with me hurt. Instantly I was hit with an overwhelming wave of guilt, feeling like I had worsened her own precarious situation because of my own selfishness.

I knew this was a bad idea.

* * *

The guilt of my earlier outburst kept me silent throughout the beginning of the trial, and I had elected to sit on the steps behind Tali and Shepard as they continued. I received many strange looks from quarians in the audience, probably from the look of my suit, and mostly after I didn't say _Keelah se'lai_ when prompted. I still had no idea what it meant.

As far as I could tell, Shepard was Tali's defense attorney, or counselor, or _whatever_ , and was in charge of somehow coming up with evidence against the possibility of Tali brining active geth into the fleet.

I knew the story…well, some of it. The geth were created by the quarians and eventually drove them from Rannoch…and that's about all Dad had told me. The quarians hate the geth, and I understand why…but I still find it difficult to share their sentiment when it felt like both were the enemy here.

One thing was becoming apparent as the trial went on, and that was how little of it seemed to be about what _Tali_ had done. Each admiral that spoke always stemmed their argument back to the geth, or something that had nothing to do with the currently accused…and it was getting on my nerves.

And then Admiral Koris said, "Then explain how geth seized the lab ship where your father was working!"

Tali was stunned, frantically shifting in place. "What are you talking about? What happened?"

My eyes widened. Her father was _here_?

Gerrel nodded atop the stage. "As far as we can tell, Tali, the geth have killed everyone on the _Alarei_ …your father included."

 _What?_ I shrieked to myself. _The last person who knows what happened to me is dead?!_

I know Xen was alive, and _claiming_ to be my mother, by my father told me to only trust a _Zorah_ …and Tali's father was likely the man he meant.

"What? Oh Keelah…," Tali grieved, barely able to believe what she was hearing. I wanted to get off my ass and scold them for allowing something like that to happen, but the look Tali had given me earlier had glued me to the floor.

 _I've done enough_ , I reiterated to myself. So, I sat there and said nothing…and it was driving me insane.

Shepard interjected. "I appreciate the need for this trial admirals, but right now our first concern must be the safety of the Migrant Fleet. The Normandy stands ready to assist in whatever capacity necessary."

Admiral Shala'Raan, the lone admiral who had to recuse herself from the trial, nodded atop the stage. "Thank you. Quarian strike teams have attempted to retake the ship, so far without success."

I kept thinking about it, and the more I did, the more inclined I felt to insist to Shepard that we leave immediately. Tali's father could be the only one left I could trust.

I pried myself from the floor. "We'll get your ship back…I mean… _our_ ship. Extracting Tali's father is too important."

"No one cares what you think," Admiral Xen spat back, her arms crossed. The other admirals gave her a "funny look" before turning towards me, making me wish I had just kept my mouth shut.

Koris must've decided to keep his professionalism, because he returned to the trial without a hitch. "The…safest course would be to simply destroy the ship. But if you are looking for an honorable _death_ instead of exile…,"

"I'm looking for my _father_ you _bosh'tet_!" Tali shouted back with a pointed finger.

Raan raised her hands, attempting to calm the situation. "You intend to retake the Alarei from the geth? This proposal is extremely dangerous."

Shepard didn't seem upset with me, and he answered. "With your permission admirals, yes. The good of the Fleet must come first…and Tali needs to find her father."

"Agreed," Gerrel replied. "And if you die on this worthy mission, Tali, we will see that your name is cleared of these charges."

"We can discuss that later," Koris disagreed.

"Then it is decided," Raan declared. "You will attempt to retake the Alarei. Be safe, Tali. This hearing will resume upon your return, or upon the determination that you have been killed in action."

Shepard nodded in acceptance before ushering Tali back in my direction, where I was waiting for a more personal conversation.

"This smells wrong, Shepard," I said before Tali had made it back. "Everything about this just makes me feel uneasy."

"I hear you," he acknowledged as Tali joined us.

"Thank you for agreeing to retake the Alarei Shepard. The admirals sound sure that my father is already dead but…I don't know. We won't know anything until we get there," she thanked, still not paying me much mind, which I understood for now.

Despite everything that was happening, I found my gaze tracing back to Admiral Xen more than I liked. Was it true? Was _she_ my mother?

It seemed plausible…with her snappy demeanor and all. The only thing that didn't add up was her age. Maybe it was the suit, but she didn't look old enough to have a 24-year-old child, unless she had given birth to me in her early twenties.

"Should we talk to some of the admirals?" Shepard asked Tali.

"Maybe…it might help us figure out what some of their viewpoints are…but I doubt we'll get much out of them, especially Xen," she admitted, glaring at me. "Victor's done enough damage already."

I'll admit, I was starting to like Tali, so my patience for her had built significantly…but even _she_ was beginning to test it. "Look Tali," I snapped, leaning in. "I get it, I messed up, but I'm here to help you, and no offense, you don't exactly have the luxury of alienating your friends right now."

I could tell Shepard was moving in to make me back off, but something brought him to a halt. He sighed. "He's right Tali. Right now we need to work together if we're going to get you out of this mess."

She huffed, shaking her head. " _Fine_. Let's just get moving. I need to know if my father is still alive."

"Excuse me," a female quarian asked to the side. "Are you Kibo'Xen?"

It took me a moment to realize that the young woman was talking to me, but I eventually turned her way. "Yeah…at least I was told I am."

The black and purple dressed quarian nodded and held out her hand. "I'm Fia'Xen vas Neema…and I guess I'm your half-sister."

* * *

 **This chapter revealed a lot, but still left a lot of questions. I had originally planned to cover the entire treason affair, but that would likely involve a 6,000 word chapter, and that's too long. I'm currently juggling working on this story and continuing my Star Wars series, so I don't know how often these chapters are going to be released.**

 **If you enjoyed, please follow/fav and leave a review! Thanks for reading!**


	5. From Yesterday

**From Yesterday**

Fia'Xen seemed halfway decent, at least compared to her mother. She had the courtesy to offer me a formal greeting…which was a first on this trip. If it weren't for the possibility of incest I'd say she's a pretty attractive woman, even with the mask. I'd ask her to show me her face, but…

She lead me away from the "courtroom", or perhaps the more proper term would be assembly area, and towards the corner of the room where Admiral Xen was conversing with other quarians. I couldn't help but notice Shepard and Tali following without an invitation, and I was really in no position to tell them otherwise, nor did I feel the need to.

We approached the group where Admiral Xen was waiting, it quickly dispersed once they had spotted Fia. Xen narrowed her eyes.

"Tali'Zorah, given the circumstances, are you sure speaking to me is appropriate?" she said.

Shepard raised his hand. "We're here because you wanted to speak with one of my crewmates."

Xen nodded. "Yes, but maybe my daughter wasn't clear enough about the confidentiality of my request."

Fia seemed to lose her cool, and then bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Mother. I will do better next time."

I shivered to myself. I'm not sure I would've lasted long with Xen as my guardian; instilled with fear of failure. A part of me wanted to ensure she did fine, but I worried I'd most likely just make a fool of myself again.

"Victor is one of my crewmates, which means he is my responsibility, and so far, you haven't proven to me that you have his best interests at heart," Shepard justified. "So, if you want to speak with him, you'll have to do it with us."

That was unexpected. Never before has someone stood up for me like that, especially in a precarious situation such as this…and it made me glad I had listened to Shepard beforehand.

I could start to see why the Boss held him in such high regard.

Xen was looking for some kind of approval from me, and I just shrugged, which answered her question. "Very well," she accepted. "That will be all, Fia."

Fia bowed her head once again, and then proceeded to scurry off in embarrassment, which made me feel oddly guilty. She hadn't done anything wrong.

Admiral Xen then suddenly got right to business. "I see you've chosen the alias of "Victor Price" …an _odd_ name…but you've spent the last 23 years living on Omega, scrounging for survival…yes?"

I nodded. "Something like that."

Suddenly, Xen's negative demeanor dropped, and I wasn't ready for it. "It's good to see you're alive…and no worse for wear. I can't imagine what you would've gone through outside of the Fleet."

I didn't buy it. "Just a moment ago you were telling me that, quote: 'No one cares what you think'…and _now_ you're feeling sorry for me?"

"Ah yes," she noticed. "A façade…political reasons…I don't expect you to understand. It was part of the reason why I wanted to speak with you _alone_."

"You and I both know that's out of the question," I reiterated. "If you've got something to say, just say it."

Xen rubbed the front of her mask with her hand and crossed her arms again. "Very well, but I warned you," she conceded, and then leaned in. "You're dangerous to the Admiralty Board, Kibo. If you believe you're safe here, you're gravely mistaken."

I narrowed my eyes. "What do you mean _dangerous_?"

Shepard pushed forward, practically breathing against my neck. "That better not be a _threat_ , Admiral."

"A _threat_?" she spat. "I'm trying to protect my son, _Commander_. The Admiralty Board sees Kibo'Xen as a tremendous threat towards the effort of retaking our homeworld," she then looked towards me. "Why do you think your father ran away?"

It made sense, but I still couldn't wrap my head around the idea that I could halt a society's effort towards retaking their _homeworld_. I shook my head. "But what do the Admirals want from me?"

Admiral Xen sighed, and leaned in closer. "Admiral Gerrel wants every piece of evidence of your existence purged from the face of the galaxy, and you along with it. You're everything Admiral Koris has ever wanted…and if he gets you, then the people will no longer see the need to take back Rannoch from the geth."

"That's ridiculous," Tali rejected.

Xen scoffed. "It's funny you mention it Tali'Zorah. Tell me, what it is that your father had always promised you?"

Tali seemed to get a bit defensive, most likely due to the invasiveness of her question. Nonetheless, she went along. "To build a house on the homeworld."

Xen nodded, and turned away. "I think you can piece together the rest of this dilemma Kibo. Her father is the architect of your _eradication_ …all for the sake of retaking the homeworld."

I froze. _What?!_

Tali's eyes widened. That is a-,"

"Thank you!" Shepard raised his hand, pulling Tali back. "Admiral Xen…for speaking with us. Let's go Victor."

After a few moments, I finally broke myself out of the mold that had gripped me with fear. I didn't want to believe it…but it all made sense. A quarian with a strong immune system could survive in many more environments than that of Rannoch…which meant there would be no need to take it back.

I had been cursed with the gift of evolution…and Tali's father sought to cleanse that flaw…with my death.

* * *

Words could not be formed from my stricken throat or my frozen mind until we finally reached the docking bay. Shepard had given us essentially a tour of the entire gathering hall as he spoke to each of the individual admirals. I wondered what they were thinking when they saw me standing behind Shepard, my eyes panned down towards the floor…feelings of shock, guilt, and betrayal all swirling in my mind.

I could tell Shepard didn't want us discussing it in the room anyway, and I was smart enough to know that bringing up a political web of lies to the admirals would only worsen the situation. Neither Gerrel nor Koris brought up anything about me however, which was making me suspicious. It could either be a ploy; Gerrel trying to keep the intricate plot Xen had described a secret for me…or there was no plot, and he was just going on business as usual with no knowledge of who I was. Koris just seemed intrigued, but didn't press any questions that would reveal anything. Shepard was good at keeping attention drawn to himself.

Aside from my own dilemma, another thing was revealed, and that was the underlying issues with the geth that were being addressed during Tali's trial. They only confirmed my earlier observation, and that the true purpose of this trial was less about Tali and more about the geth.

I'd say I was upset, but right now, I wasn't entirely sure I could even trust her. It was possible that Xen had fabricated the story for her own political gain, but it just seemed far too intricate to be completely made up. Hearing that I could threaten the goal of an entire race was difficult not to take seriously.

When we had finally finished speaking to the admirals, Shepard lead us to the docking bay and into the shuttle en route to the _Alarei_ …where Tali's father was waiting…the _Zorah_ my father had to have meant for all those years.

I was going to get the truth…no matter what the cost…and I had Shepard to make sure of that.

Once the shuttle docked with our destination, Shepard was already prepping his assault rifle as always. "It's going to be tight quarters. Stick close, check your fire, and watch each other's backs. Tali, I want you keeping an eye out for hunters. You're our expert on geth combat."

The female quarian nodded, right to business. "Got it."

Shepard turned to me as we rose to our feet. "I want you to stay behind Tali. Utilize your Viper if we come across long hallways. Other than that, stick to your Tempest and protect her six the best you can."

I was still struggling, but the importance of the mission and the reality of combat threw me back into gear. "Won't be a problem."

The airlock hissed and opened, and Shepard lead us out into the short hallway with the door to the barracks at the other end. Tali readied her Eviscerator shotgun as I lined up behind her.

"Aim for their eyes," she said. "It's their-,"

"I know how to fight geth," I cut her off instinctually, the strenuous trials of the day trying to pry themselves out of my skin. Shepard grumbled in annoyance.

"Cut out the animosity Victor," he ordered. "I understand what's going on with you, but we're in the middle of combat, and Tali has more experience than you do. If you two can't trust each other, we won't make it out of here. Understand?"

I grimaced behind my mask. Shepard was right… _again_. A sigh rushed from my lungs. "I'm sorry, Tali. It's been a long day."

Tali nodded, keeping her eyes facing forward. "I know, but we need to work together. I promise you can trust me."

Even despite what Xen had said, I found that the most believable thing I'd heard all day, and my worries seemed to fade away…for now.

I nodded. "Alright, let's go shoot some geth."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Shepard agreed. "Come on."

Shepard forced the door open and it was right to business. My eyes scanned the terrain; trooper barracks; beds and cargo along with sink bars. Plenty of places to take cover. Geth lights shined in our direction, and their distinct clicking came next as they moved to engage the three of us. Shepard's assault rifle roared as countless rounds sprayed out, and three confirmed kills with them. After the initial flare, he took cover, and Tali and I moved up to the opposite side of the bar. My eyes peered up.

"3 contacts directly ahead," I relayed. "Simple units, no heavy hitters."

"Got it," Tali confirmed before pulling out of cover and unleashing two shotgun blasts; the white-hot pellets taking down their shields. I followed up, letting my Tempest loose to burn through three geth heads until they all shut down. On cue, Shepard vaulted over the bar and aimed towards the door at the far side, unloading as soon as geth attempted to reinforce the overrun position. More dead geth…bliss.

Just like on Haestrom, I was beginning to feel the natural instinct to murder as many geth as I could, most likely triggered by the various quarian bodies I spotted in the first room. The rush of battle roared through my veins, and each kill only made it more satisfying…even if Shepard was the one doing most of the killing.

The room was cleared like clockwork, and Tali and I backed off each other to get some space. Working close is effective in this situation, but I like having room to work…no matter if they're male _or_ female.

I shook out the feeling through the rolling of my shoulders. "That wasn't so hard," I remarked.

Tali turned to reply, but she suddenly grabbed ahold of my shoulder and pulled me away. "Look out!" she shouted as she raised her shotgun and fired once my body was cleared.

Completely confused, I raised my arms pathetically in helplessness, trying to shield myself from whatever she was referring to. Instead, I was informed by the sound of a large geth body slamming into the floor in a heap. Once the threat had passed, I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment.

 _Hunters…dammit_.

"Thanks for the save," I said, and Tali nodded professionally.

"Keep your eyes open," Shepard reminded me. "Hunters can kill you before you even know they're there."

"Right," I acknowledged, falling in line as Shepard lead us into the hallway. "Sorry."

Resistance was minimal as we approached one of the Laboratories, and Shepard lead us inside, for what I deducted as a chance to discover what had happened. Tali took point as we approached what looked like some kind of dysfunctional geth unit.

"Watch the doorway," Shepard ordered when he turned my way. "We need to check this out."

I acknowledged with a nod, albeit feeling a bit annoyed with the prospect of guard duty, but the Geth Hunter that had almost blasted me to bits made me keep my mouth shut. Aside from that, I had learned to trust Shepard, and that crossing him so far has only resulted in biting me in the ass.

Tali approached the deactivated geth parts, taking a moment to figure out what it was. "This is one of the storage units I sent to Father," she recognized. I still kept my ears out, but I found my eyes peeking back for a look. "Looks like parts from a disabled repair drone, plus a reflex algorithm that I didn't recognize. I got these on Haestrom."

Shepard narrowed his eyes behind his helmet. "What made this part worth it to send back to the fleet?"

"It had to be in working order. Something that could be analyzed and integrated into other technology," she explained as Shepard rummaged through it. "Anything new had priority. Technology the geth had developed themselves. Signs of modification, clues to their thinking."

Shepard finished his examination. "Does that salvaged gear give you a clue as to what happened here?"

"No, I don't know," Tali quivered, her head shaking frantically. "Shepard, I checked _everything_ I sent here. I passed up great finds because they might be too dangerous, prone to uncontrolled reactivation or self-repair."

Nothing added up. I had known Tali long enough to know how thorough she was with her work, and to think she was sloppy with geth parts didn't reflect her character. Although, with the amount of distrust between the admirals, I had lost faith in any of their decency.

"We can't rule out the fact that he may have reactivated geth intentionally," I suggested. "Judging by the obvious infighting between the admirals, I wouldn't be surprised."

I expected Tali to retort, but she sighed in defeat. "I wish it wasn't possible but…," she then shook her head, fighting the thought from her head. "Can we just keep moving?"

Shepard nodded in agreement. "Let's go."

Resistance was moderate as we progressed through the ship. We maintained the original plan from before, and Tali and I were beginning to fall more into sync as we went along. Gone were the moments where a hunter almost blasted me to pieces…luckily.

We eventually came across a hall not far from the main lab, and a large wall console grabbed Tali's attention enough for us to stop our rapid progression. Shepard didn't have to tell me to stand watch, and I was proud of myself for finally grasping basic combat roles in a group. It had been difficult to break out of the lone wolf mold, but I was finding it much more preferable to have teammates to watch my back.

"This console might have something," Tali said as she accessed it, but eventually grumbled in disappointment. "Most of the data is corrupted, but a few bits are left," Hoping to expediate the process, Tali activated her omni-tool to begin sifting through the data.

While she was at work, I leaned in towards Shepard. "What are we going to do if her father really was behind all of this?"

Shepard shook his head. "We're not assuming anything yet…but if it comes to pass…follow my lead."

I nodded. "Will do."

Almost on cue, Tali was finished extracting the data. "They were experimenting on geth systems," she relayed, turning to the two of us. "looking for new ways to overcome geth resistance to reprogramming."

Shepard cocked his head. "Do you think testing new weapons on the geth was right?"

"It's not testing weapons on prisoners, Shepard," Tali explained fortuitously. "I only sent Father parts. Even if he assembled them, they wouldn't be sapient. You saw what Saren and Sovereign did with the geth. Any research that gives us an advantage is important."

"Do you know what kind of tests your father was running?" Shepard asked, likely trying to find an angle to attack from once they returned.

"No, Father just told me to send back any geth technology I could find that wasn't a direct danger to the Fleet. I suspected he might be testing weapons, but I thought he was just working on new ways to bypass shields or armor."

"Could any of that data clear your name?"

Tali's head drooped, and I could almost feel the hope ebbing from her essence. "Doubtful. This is mostly results data. Effects of different disruptive hacking techniques…I don't even understand all of it. But…they may have been activating the geth deliberately," she admitted, and returned to the console. "I don't know. Nothing here says specifically. But if they were…then Father was doing something _terrible_ ,"

"What was all this Father?" she growled to herself in frustration. "You promised me you'd build me a house on the homeworld. Was _this_ going to bring us back home?!"

I wanted to assure her in some way, but whatever I could think of would only be something she didn't want to hear. Despite all of this, I was still trying to piece together what Xen had described, but if Tali's father was willing to bring geth back to life and test their limits, then he must've been desperate to destroy them. If I had come into the equation…the likely first reaction would be hostility…as I would pose a threat to quarian willingness to fight the geth.

"Maybe it's time for your people to let go of reclaiming your world from the geth," Shepard suggested.

Tali just about lost her mind. "You have _no idea_ what it's like!" she shouted, turning back towards Shepard. " _You_ have a planet to go back to! My home is one hull breach from extinction!"

" _Tali_ ," Shepard began. "I'm reading the terrain. Victor is living proof that your people don't need to throw their lives away in a war they don't need."

I didn't appreciate suddenly being dragged into the disagreement, but Shepard was speaking the truth.

"Don't _need_?" Tali spat. "Shepard, _I_ will never be able to live my life without this damn suit! Just because one quarian doesn't need his, doesn't mean the rest of us shouldn't want to retake the homeworld!"

 _Bingo._

" _Exactly_ ," I said with a pointed finger, and received confused looks from them both. "I _knew_ Xen's argument was bullshit!"

"What are you talking about?" Shepard asked.

"Think about it…even if the quarian people knew of my existence, they would still want to retake the homeworld so their _own_ children could live without their suits. Just look at how she reacted to the prospect of giving up," I then shook my head. "No…my existence would only create jealousy…and that jealousy would only _inspire_ the people to retake Rannoch, so that one day their children could be like me."

Tali's glowing eyes widened. " _Keelah_ …he might be right! If my father was willing to…Shepard we _have_ to find him!"

Shepard nodded as he caught on. "We will, let's move."

I'll admit, I pulled some of that out of my ass, but strangely it seemed plausible when it was all pieced together. Admiral Xen had to have been banking on my ignorance of quarian publicity, because Tali's undying commitment to retaking Rannoch made my existence seem obsolete…and I could guarantee she wasn't the only one who felt this way. Quarian hatred for the geth was obvious even after only spending a few hours walking among them, and it would have to take something drastic for them to simply drop the matter entirely.

And _I_ was not it.

The next room had a stairwell that lead to a lower part of the ship, and we took cover at the edge of the overhead balcony, spotting a few triplets of geth. Once Shepard gave the signal, he popped over the cover and took out one of the triplets, while Tali and I used combined fire to knock down a few units while they were still caught unawares.

Bullets riddled our cover as the geth fired back, but Shepard was ready. Rolling into the staircase opening, he fired a concussive blast below, and the impact threw all the geth into a state of confusion. My eyes keyed in on slight distortion that was revealed from the blast, and my omni-toll electrified and arched lightning down below. The blast hit home, and a geth hunter's cloaking device overloaded and exploded, leaving the geth a mangled mess of parts.

The rest of the units fell as we pressed forward and cleared the room. "Good work," Shepard praised. "Let's press on."

The door below lead to a narrow hall…and Shepard stopped dead in his tracks. Confused, I tried to see past him…and spotted the body of a dead quarian lying in the middle of the path.

"Father!" Tali shouted in vain, and my blood ran cold as she pushed past us.

 _No…no, no, no! He's the only one who knows!_ I thought, but then grimaced. How awfully selfish of me…my first thought always being about how _my_ life is harder than everyone else's. I'm better than that…I _know_ I am.

I pushed past Shepard and looked down at the red-suited quarian; his body sprawled out on the floor, and the blood that stained the metal floor below…and his mourning daughter knelt down above him.

"No, no, no! You always had a plan. Masked life signs o-or an onboard medical stasis program, maybe. You! You wouldn't…," Tali uttered in denial.

I didn't know what to do. Feelings weren't exactly something I was good at, but I felt I owed it to Tali to at least try.

Then, I felt a nudge on my shoulder. My eyes flashed towards Shepard's direction…and he dipped his head towards Tali, goading me to do something.

"They're wrong! You wouldn't just die like this! You wouldn't-,"

In a moment of pure instinct, I reached down and grabbed her upper arm. " _Tali_ ," I eased. "It's ok…come here."

Initially, she seemed surprised, but I guessed that her state of sadness made her less picky as to who would be there. She slowly rose to her feet in my grip, and we hugged…something I wasn't very good at…but nonetheless it was sufficient. I could feel the muscles in her back loosen up in my grip, and her breathing became much less erratic.

"Damn it! _Damn it_!" she cried, before we finally pulled apart. "I'm sorry."

Shepard stepped in, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You've got nothing to be sorry about."

"Maybe," Tali began, hope filling her voice once again. "He would have known I would come," she then knelt back down to his body. "Maybe he left a message." She used her own omni-tool to reactivate her father's, and almost on cue a holographic message revealed itself.

" _Tali, if you are listening…then I am dead. The geth have gone active. I don't have much time. Their main hub will be on the bridge. You'll need to destroy it to stop their VI processes from forming new neural links. Make sure Han'Gerrel sees the data…and…Tali_ ," his head then drooped downwards in the message. " _I failed an old friend. If you can…go to Omega and find Ebon'Tal vas Moreh, and if he is dead, then his son: Kibo'Xen nar Rayya. He is integral to our plan. You must-_ ," the transmission then cut out as the sound of geth overwhelmed it.

"Thanks Dad," Tali said somberly.

Shepard rubbed his friend's back. "He knew you'd come for him. He was trying to help you. It's not perfect. It's not what you wanted, but it was the best he could do…and now Vic-…excuse me…and now _Kibo_ knows the truth."

"At least he found the Zorah he was looking for," Tali replied, still not looking any better.

"No," I shook my head. "I found the Zorah I was looking for on Haestrom," I admitted. "I didn't see it then…but you were the one who lead me to all the answers I was looking for. If I hadn't stumbled upon Garrus, I'd have never stumbled upon Shepard…and I'd have never met you…and without you…I'm just a forgotten orphan on Omega."

For once, I didn't care about myself. I didn't need someone to tell me why I was taken from my home…I had to _find_ my home. It wasn't a place…it was the people I surrounded myself with.

Some answers lie right in front of you.

I couldn't see Tali's face through her mask, but I knew she was smiling at least a little. "Thanks," she said, and then drew her shotgun. "Let's finish this."

The bridge happened to just be through the next door, and we were greeted to a rectangular room not unlike anything I'd seen. Separated by a glass pane were two Geth Hunters and a Geth Prime, which had to have been the ones managing the geth across the ship. Shepard lead us forward and prepped another concussion blast, which I deducted was supposed to give us enough time to take out the Hunters before they cloaked. He gave us a few signals to circle around the other side of the pane, and Tali and I wasted no time doing so.

Shepard unleashed his blast, and both Hunters struggled to figure out what had happened while the Prime whirled around, firing its shotgun in our direction. Pinned down, we couldn't get to the Hunters, and Shepard was forced to pick up the slack and take out the one nearest to him. The other regained its focus and cloaked while the Prime kept its bullets locked on our cover.

"We need to move!" I shouted to Tali. "We're stuck here!"

"Relax! Hunters have to reveal themselves just before they fire, and when that happens, I'll blast it to pieces!" Tali relayed her plan to me. I didn't like sitting around and waiting for the Hunter to vaporize us, but I didn't have a better idea.

I peered through the pane and spotted Shepard tackling the Prime unit, followed by the orange glow of an Omni-blade as he sunk it into its circuits. While I was looking however, I caught a glint in the corner of my eye.

"Tali, now!" I shouted, and then rolled out of the way. The quarian fired three shotgun shells into the Hunter that had revealed itself, and it fell to the floor in a static heap.

"Good call," she said, returning her shotgun to the back of her waist.

"Nice plan," I praised, and she nodded.

"Over here," Shepard called, and we made our way around the pane of glass and two the bridge's main computer, where he was already shutting down the rest of the geth units on the ship. "Nice work. The ship's been cleared."

Tali accessed the console just to be sure, while I gave them space to do whatever finishing touches were necessary. "It looks like some of the recordings remained intact," Tali discovered. "They'll tell us how this happened…what Father did."

"You sound like you don't really want to hear it," Shepard noticed.

The slight joy Tali had in the moment of combat was long gone by now, and the death of her father was still a fresh wound, and I didn't blame her for not wanting to make it worse. "No…," she started. "We have to…I know. I just…this is _terrible_ , Shepard. I don't want to know that he was part of this."

Even so, Tali signaled through her omni-tool to begin the playback.

The display revealed an image of Rael'Zorah along with two other quarian scientists. " _Do we have the parts to bring more online_?" Rael asked one of them.

" _Yes. The new shipment from your daughter will let us add two more geth to the network_ ," the male one replied.

" _We're nearing a breakthrough on systemic viral attacks. Perhaps we should inform the Admiralty Board…just to be safe_ ," the other female continued.

" _No_ ," Rael shook his head vigorously. " _We're too close. Kibo'Xen is of age by now…and I promised to build my daughter a house on the homeworld. I'm not going to sit and wait while the politicians argue_."

Tali shook her head in pity.

" _We'd have an easier time of it if Tali'Zorah could send us back more working material._ "

" _Absolutely not!_ " Rael objected. " _I don't want Tali exposed to any political blowback!_ _Leave Tali out of this. Assemble new geth with what we have. Bypass security protocols if need be,_ " then the recording cut out.

It was hard to fathom…but I really had been a part of Rael's plan to retake Rannoch from the beginning. Question was, what part, and to what magnitude? I'm only one man, a young one at that, who had never lived among quarians. What was I supposed to do?

But the biggest question still remained…why exile me and my father to Omega?

"It sounds like he was doing this for you," Shepard told Tali.

"I never wanted this Shepard. Keelah, I _never_ wanted _this_ ," she heaved, unable to believe a thing she had seen. "Everything here is his fault! I tried to pretend it didn't point to him, but this…when this comes up in the trial, they'll-," her thought process seemed to pinpoint on an idea, and she frantically turned back to Shepard.

"We _can't_ tell them, not the admirals, not anyone."

My eyes widened. "The _fuck_? Are you out of your damn mind?! Tali, they're _begging_ for a reason to exile you!"

"You think I don't know that?!" Tali retorted. "You think I want to live knowing I can never see the Fleet again?! I can't go back in there into that room and say that my father was the _worst_ war criminal in our people's history! I cannot!"

I shook my head in frustration at what I thought was her ignorance. "This is _bigger_ than just your father, _Tali_! Admiral Xen, my supposed _mother_ , tried to criminalize _two_ of the Admirals on the Board, and then sent _us_ on a wild fucking goose chase to find out whether or not they wanted to abort me as a fucking infant!" I then paced around, shaking my head and grumbling as I tried to release my frustration. "This is a damn conspiracy, I'm telling you! That bitch is up to something!"

"You don't understand," Tali answered. "They would strike my father's name from the manifest of every ship he ever served on. He would be worse than an exile. He'd be a _traitor_ to our people, held up for children as a monster in a cautionary tale!" she then began to break down, fighting back tears. "I can't let all the good he did be _destroyed_ for this."

Turns out _I_ was the ignorant one.

Again.

I sighed. "Alright…maybe it isn't worth it."

Shepard slashed his hand through the air. "We're not going to decide anything here. Let's just see what the admirals say once we get back, then I'll figure out what's best."

"You're my captain in this hearing, Shepard. It's your decision," she conceded. "But please…don't destroy what my father was."

This whole predicament was driving me insane, and I was surprised I'd been able to keep myself from jumping out an airlock just to spare me the trouble. The political web of bullshit was absolutely insulting to Tali, and to put her up for exile even more so. Even if Rael'Zorah planned to bring me back to the Fleet…I wasn't sure this was where I wanted to be.

The madness had to stop.

"Shepard," I said. "If anything,…expose those insensitive bastards for who they are."

My commander then gave me an intrigued look, and he rubbed the bottom of his helmet in thought. "Hm…that gives me an idea."

Maybe I should've just kept my mouth shut.

* * *

Shepard was horrifically silent the entire journey back to the _Rayya_ , and after his ominous agreement with my idea, I was beginning to worry as to what was developing in his mind. All I could do was hope for the best.

When we finally returned to the court room, they were already prepared to render judgement without us, and I could hear Shepard grumble in frustration.

It was pathetic…all of this was.

The three of us approached the podium in front of the admirals.

"Sorry we're late," Tali mocked.

Shepard narrowed his eyes. "You didn't waste much time declaring us dead. Go get your ship."

 _That_ was new.

Gerrel lowered his head. "We apologize, Shepard. Your success in taking back the Alarei is very…unexpected."

I didn't care what the other admirals had to say…my eyes were fixed on one person…and she was back to no longer acknowledging me. Probably for _political reasons_ …pathetic.

"But, also very welcome," Admiral Raan added from above the three admirals.

"Did you find anything that could clarify what happened there?" Gerrel continued, his interest swelling.

There was a moment of silence as Shepard appeared to collect his final thoughts, as well as a moment where he and Tali locked glances. Then, once he had done so, he walked towards the podium.

"Shepard…please," she begged, but he kept walking.

His index finger shot out towards the admirals in accusatory fashion. "Tali's achievements are the only evidence you should need. Come on Tali, Kibo, we're leaving," he concluded, and I had a smile of shock concealed behind my mask. I couldn't believe we were about to just _walk_ out.

"What?!" Raan shouted in astonishment, and the crowd began to shriek in shock.

"This is a formal proceeding!" Koris protested.

It was then where Shepard turned back towards the podium, slamming his fist to its top. "Wrong Admiral! This is a sham! You're trying to build sympathy for the geth to forestall the war effort!"

Koris spat in disgust. "That is completely-,"

Shepard then turned to Gerrel. "And you want all the messy experiments covered up so you can throw your fleet at the geth!"

Gerrel shook his head in denial. "I…I…."

"Do whatever you want with your toy ships," Shepard spat. "But leave my crew _out_ of your political _bullshit_!"  
"We have no new evidence. You can accept Tali's word, or you can exile the woman who saved the Citadel from the geth."

When Shepard had finished, and the crowd had finally died down, Raan stepped forward. "Are the admirals prepared to render judgement?"

I froze…Shepard had not even acknowledged Admiral Xen.

I nudged him with my elbow as discreetly as possible. "Commander…what about-," I whispered, but he cut me off, using a raised hand to keep me from speaking any further. The admirals were all accessing their omni-tools after Shepard's testimony, and Tali's future with the Fleet laid in the balance.

Once the votes were in place, Admiral Raan looked down at the results. "Tali'Zorah…in light of your history of service, we do not find sufficient evidence to convict. All charges of treason against you have been dropped."

He did it…I have no idea how…but he did it. Without any kind of evidence, Shepard had single-handedly willed the admirals to drop all charges.

I wish I had that kind of pull.

"Commander Shepard, please accept these gifts in appreciation for you taking the time to represent one of our people," Raan thanked, transferring something to Shepard's omni-tool.

"With all due respect, admirals. I didn't represent one of _your_ people, I represented one of mine," he replied.

Gerrel nodded. "That you did, Shepard."

"Go in peace Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. This hearing has concluded. Keelah se'lai."

* * *

"Kibo'Xen vas Normandy…did I say it right?" Garrus asked, leaning back in the mess hall chair, and I shrugged in disinterest. "Sounds like you went through hell in there."

I groaned, putting both my hands on my masked face. " _Ugh_ , you have no idea. I almost lost my marbles a good five times."

Garrus laughed at my displeasure, and I didn't have the strength to object. "I'm surprised nobody turned up dead along the way."

" _Pfft_ , you're telling me."

I may have seemed distressed, but this was a good feeling of a return to normalcy. After spending a day on that fleet, eating dextro-sludge with the Boss was a good reprieve.

"Well, maybe now you'll be able to focus on the Collectors and the mission," Garrus suggested. "The Reapers are the real threat."

" _Yeah_ ," I replied. "You and Shepard keep saying that, but I haven't received any concrete explanation as to who they're supposed to be."

Garrus then leaned forward in his chair. "Maybe it's time to change that."

* * *

 **That was the longest chapter I've ever written for this site, and it had to be. This is an important transitional point in the story as we stray away from the quarians and to the Collector threat.**

 **As for the structure of this story, I've decided to divide it into 3 parts that are going to be around 7-9 chapters each, so safe to say this is going to be a long-term project.**

 **If you enjoyed, please follow/fav and leave a review! Thanks for reading!**


	6. Ultimatum

**Ultimatum**

No, we didn't just walk away from the Migrant Fleet right after Tali was cleared, but I believe it was safe to say that nothing happened. Although, just letting Admiral Xen off the hook was not something I was particularly alright with. Despite this, I have learned that Shepard does everything for a legitimate reason, so after a few days of sleeping on it, I was fine.

It felt oddly calming to have the entire ordeal behind me, even though I was left with no answer as to why I had to be taken to Omega as a child. Rael'Zorah had left that part out of his dying message. Even so, I felt more at home than ever before, and I had spent the last few weeks trying to get to know the rest of the crew.

Grunt was one troubled individual, but hearing the insane and violent speeches he would give always ended with one of us laughing in some way…besides when he admitted that he had discovered his hatred of turians…then I decided I wouldn't talk to him for at least a few days. Probably for the best; I didn't want to give him any idea that I condoned any attack against Garrus.

Jack is fucking scary, not because the way she acts, but just the fact that she's more verbally violent than I am. She also doesn't seem to be very interested in talking to anyone aside from Shepard, so our conversation was short-lived.

Zaeed and I shared a few stories, mainly involving hits against targets on Omega. Our personalities were so in sync it was hard to find differences, aside from his obvious obsession with his next paycheck, while I was just raised to be violent. Even so, it was easy for he and I to click.

That was everyone in Engineering and Cargo, and I had decided to wait to head up a level. Besides, going up a level meant that I'd have a higher chance of running into Miranda, and I wasn't about to let her tarnish my good mood. So, with nothing else to do, I returned to my station at the Drive Core.

What I didn't expect to see was Tali sitting on the rest bench she had set up next to her console, struggling with her left shoulder.

She spotted me as soon as I walked in. "Kibo," she grunted. "Can you help me with this?"

I was still getting used to people calling me Kibo, and only she, Shepard, and Garrus were doing so anyway. Victor had been my name for 23 years, so the adjustment wasn't going to be seamless.

"Um…sure," I agreed, taking a seat next to her. She removed her hand from her shoulder to reveal a small puncture in her suit, which I deducted had to have been enemy fire. "One of the geth get you in the arm?"

Even with her mask, I could tell that she was frustrated. "Right. I just need to check the wound but my suit is…," she tried to pull apart what looked like a creased section of her suit. "Come on you little _bosh'tet_!"

I kept up a blank stare, and she seemed to be waiting for me to do something. "Uh…Tali, I don't know what you want me to do."

"Huh? Oh!" she facepalmed. "Right…you've never…,"

"Yeah," I confirmed with a chuckle. "I have no idea how these things work."

Tali shivered with embarrassment. "Sorry…I just need you to pull the seals apart so I can take a look at the wound," she explained, reaching into her belt for a silver canister. "Then spray my arm with this once it opens."

I took the canister from her hand, but hesitated to continue. "Tali…I don't know if I should-,"

"Relax," she said. "I trust you. Besides, this will be a good way to teach you some quarian basics."

 _Or it could be a good way to give you the Omega Plague._ I thought to myself, but the way she cut me off convinced me she wasn't going to let it go. After a deep breath to keep my focus for the delicate task, I began to pull apart the seal just below her shoulder. The fabric was held together by an adhesive substance below, and separated like goo being pulled apart until finally revealing her purple-gray skin.

There was a gash along her shoulder where the bullet had ripped through. Since geth weapons were plasma-based, the wound had already cauterized, and little blood had remained. Once it was opened, I shook the canister and sprayed the clear liquid into her shoulder.

Tali grimaced from the sting, and I looked up. "Is this a disinfectant or something?"

She nodded, taking a look at the wound. "Mm-hm…oh dammit!" she cursed.

"What?" I asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"

She shuffled around, activating a mechanism around her elbow, followed by a mechanical sound coming from just above it. Her head shook in annoyance. "I forgot to apply my section seals. Now I'm probably going to get a damn fever later."

I sighed, still feeling somewhat at fault for whatever reason. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" she asked, looking up as she resealed her arm herself. "It was my fault."

It was then that I realized why it had slipped my tongue, and why I had tried to spend time with other members of the crew. "It's not that. I wanted to apologize for being so difficult on the Fleet. I was childish and ignorant…and honestly you deserve better from me."

Her glowing eyes panned down, and she drooped her head towards the floor. "Actually, I wanted to apologize to you for that. I should have been more understanding, not yelling at you for making a mistake. That's not who I am."

I appreciated that, although felt it was unnecessary, but to stop the two of us from entering a circle of apologies, I decided to just accept it. "It's alright. You were just trying to keep me straight."

She nodded, and then we seemed to run out of things to talk about, so we fell into a wave of unsure silence, listening to the _whur_ of the drive core working to propel the _Normandy_ forward. I had never noticed it before, but the engine room had an odd calming effect to it, and I felt as if falling asleep would be a seamless task. As soon as I realized the oddness of that thought, I tried to figure out what else would be causing such a euphoria…and the only other option was sitting right next to me.

 _No, that's just your dick thinking instead of your brain, dumbass_. I cursed to myself, but even after I had pinpointed that, the feeling did not go away. _I'm probably just exhausted…or losing it…one of those_.

"Kibo?" Tali asked, breaking me out of my trance. "Why do you always wear your mask around me?"

That caught me off guard, and I was unable to deny her observation effectively. "I always wear it," I lied. "I'm just used to it by now."

Tali shook her head. "No…when you and Garrus have your little meetings, you take it off."

Instead of asking her how she knew that, I sighed in defeat. "I just don't think it's fair for you. If you have to wear your suit, then I should too."

She looked my way, but I didn't meet her glance. "You should enjoy your gift, Kibo. It doesn't bother me…in fact it gives me hope that one day I'll be able to do the same."

"No one should want to be me," I made clear. "I had everything stripped from me when I was just an infant. It's a miracle I'm sitting here now."

"That's in the past," she continued to try reasoning with me. "Here you can be more than that. Don't let the mistake of the Board decide how you live your life."

"Tali…it's easy for _you_ to say that, but I can't just rip this mask off and start walking around without it. The current galaxy aside from the asari don't know what quarians look like under their helmets. That makes me valuable to a lot of dangerous people, as you can see from the various scrapes and dents on my armor."

"People found out?"

"Only a few…but they're all dead," I admitted, and I was surprised that I had. My trust in Tali was starting to make me feel uneasy, as it seemed no secret I held was safe from her.

"Kibo…you didn't-,"

"I didn't kill them because they knew. I killed them because they wanted to harm me when they knew. Omega is merciless…if you go soft and don't fend for yourself, you won't last a month,"

I then sighed, knowing that kind of excuse wasn't going to cut it. "I've…done some bad things Tali…but I always did them to either protect myself or stand up for the little guy. That was my code."

"I-I wasn't judging you," she retracted. "I just…I don't know," she leaned forward, placing both of her hands over her mask. "How did we even start talking about this?"

" _Kibo_ ," the intercom sounded above with Shepard's voice.

"Uh, y-yes Commander?" I asked. "What's up?"

" _Come by my Cabin as soon as possible. There's something we need to talk about_ ," he relayed, and then cut out.

Whatever it was, it was a good way to end the awkward conversation Tali and I were in the middle of, so I wasted no time getting to my feet. "Guess I'd better head up," I said.

She also got back up and nodded. "And I'd better get back to work…but thanks for helping me with my suit."

"Any time," I assured.

* * *

I spent the elevator ride up to Shepard's cabin contemplating my thought process during my conversation with Tali. Obviously, my social skills hadn't improved much even after a few months on the _Normandy_ , and our talk drove right into an awkward corner. It was beginning to get frustrating, especially since I had actually grown fond of her…to what extent was still unclear. Attraction between a male and female of the same species, stacked onto the fact that we can't even see each other's features, seemed too natural to assume anything as unpredictable as love.

But, then again, looks weren't everything. For all I knew, Tali could very well be the most beautiful woman in the galaxy under that mask, and it wouldn't have mattered. She's been the easiest person to get to know in my life.

Enough about that. I'm only giving the boss more leverage.

When the elevator had reached Shepard's cabin, I was greeted to a cozy and spacious room, complete with a fish tank that spanned the left wall. I'd say I was jealous, but I had become far too used to moving around to complain.

Shepard was waiting there for me. "Thanks for coming, Kibo," he greeted with a smile on his face, and we shook hands.

"How could I deny a request from you, Commander?" I joked.

"It wouldn't exactly be a good career move," he played along, leading me down the small steps and into his tiny lounge area.

That was when I spotted Garrus sitting there, his legs propped up on the coffee table…and realized that this was no meeting.

This was an ambush.

"Uh-oh," I complained.

Garrus scoffed. "Don't get your filters all clogged up, we're just going to talk about something Shepard noticed back at the Fleet."

I narrowed my eyes. "I don't even-,"

"Relax Kibo," Shepard eased, raising his hand. "We're here to help you out, that's all."

I knew I wasn't going to like whatever they had to say, but there was no way to convince them to leave me alone. "Alright…what is it?"

Garrus chuckled as he rose to his feet, and I glared at him. "Well…you see…the Commander and I are going to help Doctor T'Soni with a little… _confidential_ problem. So…the crew will all be taking some shore leave on Illium in the meantime."

I shook my head, knowing exactly where this was going. "No."

Shepard and Garrus were now both standing in front of me, and the fact that they both had a few inches on me was intimidating. The commander crossed his arms. "So, while I'm gone, you're going to invite Tali to the Eternity bar."

"No."

"Or you're off the team," Garrus finished.

 _That_ was uncalled for, and I don't think I'll ever forgive Garrus for this bro-code betrayal. "You're kidding."

Shepard scoffed and shook his head. "Nope."

Nervousness and anxiety creeped into my head, and I could feel my hand moving to rub the back of my neck. "B-but Shepard…I thought you and Tali-,"

"Do you remember what I told you _before_ we entered the _Rayya_?" he reminded me. "I said: carry on, Kibo."

I groaned, but still had a few more excuses loaded up. "Look, Tali and I aren't even like that."

"Yet," Garrus added on. "Shepard told me you _hugged_ her when you three were fighting the geth." I tried to object, but he cut me off. "And then you were _so_ willing to throw yourself into hell just to clear her of treason charges."

My excuses gun had run out of ammo, and I could hear the clicking of an empty firing chamber in the form of my inability to create words from my mouth.

"You'll thank us one day," Shepard assured, patting my shoulder. "We're setting you up with an Admiral's daughter. That's the equivalent of a princess in my book."

I crossed my arms. This was too out of the blue to be a fling. They _had_ to believe that this would succeed, otherwise they wouldn't have ever wasted my time with it. Shepard was not one for failure…but I knew Garrus was just trying to find another way to pull my leg.

"So, are you two just messing with me, or is there something else going on?" I asked.

Shepard shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Looks like you'll have to find out for yourself."

I sighed, beaten and without any other option. "Fine…I accept your _ultimatum_."

Not like I had much choice.

But then again, what could go wrong?

* * *

Lucky for me, Tali was more than willing to drown her stress away with the supplement of alcohol, and she didn't seem to take notice that this was obviously not my own idea. Nonetheless…I was oddly _excited_ , like the thought of the upcoming brought me some kind of joy I couldn't describe.

Besides, getting drunk off my ass didn't sound like a bad idea.

Shepard and Garrus's ultimatum was punctual, as we were landing on Illium the next day. The two of them were outfitted to fight a war, while the rest of us were just stuck in whatever we had thrown on this morning…not like Tali and I had much variety.

I had taken time to consider what she had said about the whole "not needing your suit" thing, and I'll admit I was beginning to feel a bit of guilt for handicapping myself. Inversely, keeping my suit on could be seen as mockery in a sense, almost as if I was neglecting my superior immunity only to bring myself down to another quarian's level…all to please them.

Last night I slept without it in the Crew Quarters, just to see what it was like. Pretty sure I scared the living shit out one of the Ensigns when he saw a quarian in his boxers climbing down from the top bunk. Good thing Cerberus is all uptight about security, otherwise they would've likely snapped a picture and sent it through the extranet for a few billion hits.

Once Shepard and Garrus had left, Tali and I exited the _Normandy_ and into Nos Astra, which was the capital city of Illium. I had already spent some time here when we went after Thane and Samara, but Shepard didn't exactly give us time to enjoy the scenery. Now, I was able to realize that I had never seen anything like it. Being stuck in the shithole that is Omega really lowers your standards for beauty when it comes to…well, everything. Aria T'Loak was good for control, but not so much for aesthetics.

When we came out into the courtyard of the port, which was connected to the Eternity Bar, Tali took a chance to look out over the balcony at the skyline.

"The only thing I knew about Illium was that the Fleet was not allowed near it. I'd be surprised if we walk out of here without finding trouble," she said, looking out.

Prejudice against quarians was nothing new to me, as I had earned a few scars sending a few messages on Omega. Racism was not something I took lightly…and in my book, it's a pathetically primitive way of thinking. Usually, I find myself not even bothering with those who harbor such ideas, and those who push their ideas…well…let's just say it didn't turn out well for them in the end.

"That's what the pistol's for," I replied as I looked out next to her. "It serves as a good deterrent."

She chuckled. "I guess you're right."

I nodded. "On Omega, the skylines were nothing but darkness mixed with lines of red and orange. Here everything is…alive…colorful. It's…weird."

"I felt the same way when I first saw the Citadel on my pilgrimage, although I showed up on the run…so," she then trailed off, and I noticed her eyes pan down as if she was lost in thought.

"On the run?" I asked.

She nodded, but did not look as if she wished to explain it. "Another time…come on, you said you were going to take me to Eternity."

I stared, caught off guard, since I had actually never told her what I had in mind. "That was the plan…but I-uh don't remember telling you that."

She must've slipped up, because she cleared her throat and tried to pull me along. "Good guess?" she asked, which I admit was a better save than I was expecting from her. Although, my concern for the purpose of this "date" ramped up with the revelation that she might've been in on it all along.

We moved on from the balcony and proceeded through the courtyard, passing various kiosks and asari salespeople along the way. More often than not, when we passed people they did their best to avoid eye contact, and I could hear the sneers of slight disgust as we walked by. Once again, distaste was nothing new to me, and I actually enjoyed being left alone. Even so, I felt anger boil inside me, likely because the comments were directed towards Tali as well, who did not deserve such hatred.

Eternity wasn't far, and we were greeted by an influx of music once we passed through the circular doors. Immediately the volume had risen with the combination of conversation and some other noises being emitted from intoxicated drinkers. To my immediate right, I spotted a diverse group seated around a table observing an asari stripper dancing in front of them, and did my best not to lock eyes on her movements. Dancers were very common on Omega, heck you could say it was a way of life.

My perspective changed when I had suddenly realized that I did not come here alone, and I cursed to myself for my carelessness. In an attempt to compensate, I returned my attention to Tali, who seemed to just be looking around in confusion.

"I'll admit," she spoke over the noise. "I'm not particularly familiar with the antics of a bar."

I chuckled. "Well, you sit down, have a drink…and that's about it. There's nothing too special about it, unless you're bringing a lot of friends," I then flicked my head towards the bar where an asari bartender was wiping the top clean with a rag. Once Tali and I approached, the asari stopped what she was doing.

"Welcome back babe, can I get you anything?" she asked, and I assumed she was referring to the time Shepard had brought Garrus and I here before. "Sorry, no sex, just cleaned the bar."

I instinctively reared backwards at her immediate assumption, but eventually recovered and took a seat. Tali could not say the same, whose eyes were still stuck widened.

"I…wasn't going to ask," I replied, but she didn't seem overly serious about it.

"Good," she said. "I might have to kill the next ugly asshole who asks…not that _you're_ ugly," she took back, and I deducted she didn't want to seem discriminatory.

"No offense taken," I assured as Tali finally took a seat next to me. "I'm just looking to have something fixed up for me and my friend here."

The bartender nodded. "Don't see a lot of quarians here, especially a couple."

Tali and I looked at each other…but the label didn't seem to bother either of us as we eventually looked away. She decided to speak up. "We're just trying to get away from work for a bit."

The bartender raised an eyebrow. "Off work? Are you looking to get a little tipsy or shit-faced drunk?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know…what are you up for, Tali?"

She raised her hand. "Let's stick with tipsy."

If I had five credits for every time I heard _that_.

The bartender, who I had remembered as Aethyta, set us both up with some turian liquor, and we both had to prepare straws to start drinking. I had become so accustomed to taking my mask off on the _Normandy_ that I had almost ripped it off to down the thing on instinct. Good thing Tali was able to subtly remind my dumb ass.

We each took a shot glass and raised it to each other. "To…I don't know," I began, and Tali laughed.

"To wherever this takes us," she finished for me, and the glasses clashed together.

 _3 shots later…_

"You really killed four Eclipse mercs with 2 bullets?" Tali asked after the straw finished sucking up the rest of her third drink.

I nodded as I finished my own, shaking my head to fight off the bitter taste. "Yeah…of course! I only had two bullets and a Carnifex, so I had to improvise. To be fair, I had to finish two of them off with my omni-blade, and one of them shot me in the arm."

"So…not just with two bullets," she clarified.

"Shh," I hushed her. "Don't spoil the story!"

 _3 more shots later…_

"And then she called me a slut," Tali continued. "So, I beat her, because I'm hardcore."

I laughed, and by now I could feel my sense of up and down being distorted slightly, as well as my increased socialness. "Damn, remind me to never get on your bad side," I said, and slightly pushed her shoulder.

Her speech was beginning to slur by now. "This one time, Garrus tried making fun of my people on an elevator, and then I threatened to blast him with my shotgun."

We both laughed far more than her comment warranted.

 _4 more shots later…_

We had relocated to a booth, as Tali was unable to keep herself upright on the barstool. By now, I was laughing at just about everything, and my depth perception had been obliterated. As for Tali, who was having a far worse time, she had collapsed onto my chest, spouting gibberish.

"Go…for…the optics…Chitika," she mumbled.

I found myself unable to resist hugging her tightly in my arms, as inhibitions had been forgone long ago. "Shhh…shhhh Tali…shhhhh," I mumbled, unable to stop laughter from following.

She laughed along. "The bartender…called you…ugly…ha!"

My head struggled to stay upright, and I eventually gave up, letting it lay atop hers. "I always thought you were sexy as hell," I let slip out.

Tali laughed once again. "Ooooooo…I would…kiss…you…if it didn't…kill me!"

I could feel a bulge in my lower reaches, and my inhibitions weren't strong enough to stop what I said next.

"Let's head back to the Normandy…and fix that."

* * *

We didn't kiss…or if we did, I don't _remember_ it. The rest of the time was a blur, and I awoke the next morning on the floor of Engineering…with a nerve stimulant package discarded close by. My head felt as if a spike had been driven through it, and everything seemed brighter than usual.

If a nerve stimulant had been used, then that means we did _something_.

" _Ugggghhh_ ," I heard as I tried to lift my head up. "I'm going to die." My eyes panned upwards to spot Tali sitting hunched over by her console, swaying back and forth in discomfort.

"What…the hell…happened?" I asked, my voice crackled and groggy.

"I think I…remember something about…a dance? And why are there marks all over my mask?" Tali replied, trying to wipe something from her helmet.

"Oh no," I groaned, plastering my head to the floor. "I think I might've asked you to give me a lap dance or something…and then there's a nerve stimulator over here."

"Ugh…did we?" she asked.

"Yeah…I think we did," I confirmed.

"On the Engine Room floor?"

"Uh-huh."

Tali shook her head and sighed. "I-I'm sorry about this Kibo…I just wanted us to have a good time."

I scoffed. "Why are you s-," then it hit me. " _Wait_ …was this whole ultimatum thing _your_ idea?!"

She nodded. "I wanted us to have a chance to cheer up after everything that had happened…but…I-I was too nervous to ask you…so I talked to Shepard about it."

"Garrus said I was off the team if I didn't take you!"

"What? That's what they told you? _Ugh_ …," she groaned, shaking her head. "That wasn't my idea, I swear!"

Realizing that I was still lying face-first on the floor, I picked myself up and crawled over to take a seat next to her. I chuckled. "Sounds like we both got duped. Devious assholes."

She laughed along. "I don't have any regrets…aside from the nerve stim on the Engine Room floor thing…whatever that was."

I delved into my recovering brain in an attempt to grasp what had happened, but all I found was more questions than answers. However…whatever it was…there was nothing but positive feelings associated with it.

"Some things are better left unknown," I joked, and she nodded in agreement.

We were both silent for a few moments, probably battling sick feelings. Then, something crossed my mind.

"This isn't going to be a thing, is it?"

Tali paused, and her head eventually panned downwards. "I-I don't know Kibo. We still have a job to do…and well…I think-," she stopped herself.

I shook my head. "Oh no…Tali I'm not pressuring you. In fact, I'd prefer if…whatever _this_ is…stayed ground level, at least for the time being."

She nodded. "Me too."

"Sounds good," I agreed. "I'll go find something to help us get back on our feet."

* * *

 **We'll get to the Collectors…I promise. However, this idea has been on my mind for some time now, and I think it'll serve as a nice interlude and gear shifter. Let me know what you guys think. If you enjoyed, please follow/fav and leave a review! Thanks for reading!**


	7. Nightmares

**Nightmares**

A Collector Ship…just hanging bare-assed in space for the taking…and we were the first ones to catch it. Maybe I'd thank the Illusive Man later, but then it'd probably get to his head…if he still has a brain up there. Anything is possible with eyes like that.

Shepard had everyone suit up and head to the briefing room, likely to run through a plan for scraping up every bit of intel we could on the bugs. I didn't blame his caution. This just seemed far too good to be true. Although, I was looking forward to seeing everyone in action at once, as well as the chance to shoot something without any kind of regret. Geth were nice, but they didn't give off the "we're here to murder everyone you love" vibe like the Collectors did. Tali would likely disagree, but it was understandable. I didn't grow up with the stories of how the geth seized Rannoch being drilled into my head.

Shepard was clad in N7 armor, looking prepared to win a war all on his own, and he's likely the only man in the galaxy who could actually live up to that.

"Listen up," he called out, and the room fell silent. "The Collectors slipped up and gave us a chance to learn more about them. I'm not taking any chances, so all hands will be on deck for this mission.

"Due to the size of the ship, we won't be able to cover every part of it, but EDI has compiled the most effective route for us," he pulled up an image of the ship in the middle of the table. "EDI, take it away."

I always liked EDI, especially before Tali had come aboard. While she was a shackled AI, she had a knack for humor, and the conversations we held were very enjoyable. Plus, she made functions around the ship infinitely easier, saving me from doing some of the dirtier jobs in Engineering.

" _You will need to access the control chamber, here_ ," she pointed out, and the image lit up with a dot on our destination. " _There you will be able to establish a connection for me to begin extracting data._ "

"Right," Shepard confirmed. "I'll take a squad of six through the route, while Jacob will be in charge of the contingent covering our escape should we need it."

Jacob nodded. "We won't let you down, Commander."

"How will you divide the groups?" Miranda asked, equipped with black and yellow Cerberus battle armor.

Shepard paused and looked around, which made me figure he was not entirely sure as of yet. His eyes locked on Garrus, which wasn't surprising. "Garrus, Grunt, and Tali are with me. Zaeed, Samara, and Jack, you're with Jacob."

That just left Thane, Miranda, Mordin, and myself unaccounted for. Personally, I wanted nothing more than to go with Shepard, but I had a feeling that Miranda would be coming with me. Even so, I had heard the story about what she had done for her sister…which, I'll admit, opened my eyes to what she might be. Nevertheless, I still hate Cerberus.

"Mordin, I'm going to have you stay behind and work medical for Jacob's team. Keep them alive," he continued

"Of course, Shepard. Has to be me," Mordin accepted.

Shepard's eyes then panned between myself and Miranda, and that worried me. I wasn't prepared to deal with the prospect of not being picked over her.

"You two aren't going to have a problem, are you?" he asked. Miranda and I locked glances, and my instinct was to glare, but that would only give Shepard an excuse not to take me, so I managed to refrain.

"Absolutely not," she answered. "This is too important to let personal feelings get in the way."

I narrowed my eyes, mainly because I knew she was taking a shot at me, while unintentionally giving me a way out.

I nodded. "What she said."

Shepard hesitated for a moment, but eventually broke. "Alright, you two are with me then. Which means I'll need you, Thane, with the escape team."

 _Perfect._ Just what I wanted…to be stuck with the Cerberus bitch-fit on a Collector ship, which could very well be the most dangerous thing I've ever done, and I had to deal with _her_.

 _No, stop losing your head in the negatives._ I mentally slapped myself in the wrist, and then directed my thoughts towards what I had. Our team was full of my favorites: The Boss, Grunt, Shepard, and of course, Tali.

Maybe this'll turn out alright.

 _Just don't lose your cool_.

Yes, conscience, thank you. You can shut up now.

Shepard flicked his head forward. "Everyone file into the shuttle. We leave in five."

* * *

Everything about this place seemed wrong. The walls were made of something I could only compare to stone, and yet it was held together in the form of an interstellar vessel. How it worked, I wasn't sure, and I had more pressing matters to worry about anyway. Eerie sounds could be heard echoing through the quiet halls that the six of us carefully traversed…odd clicking…along with some things you'd hear in a nightmare.

I kept my eyes scanning the area with my Viper at the ready, trailing behind Shepard and Garrus who had taken point. Tali and Miranda were on either side of me, while Grunt held up the rear, and I could almost feel the anticipation for battle emanating from the krogan.

It had been a horrifically quiet 15 minutes since we had split off from Jacob's group, who was stationed back at the shuttle and stood by for orders. The ship was completely empty through the ground we had covered, and it was beginning to seem too good to be true. Nothing involving the Collectors had ever been easy thus far, and it was too convenient for it to stop now.

Grunt huffed with impatience. "Where are they? I need something to kill!"

"Relax, Grunt," Shepard eased through his N7 helmet, Avenger pointed forward.

"It's only a matter of time," Garrus added.

We progressed until we had come across an odd disturbance, which at closer examination, turned out to be a pile of mangled human bodies. Dead bodies were by no means anything new to me, but there was something unsettling about it…maybe it was the atmosphere, but I just couldn't shake a feeling of twisted evil.

Shepard stopped to observe, taking a knee, while Grunt pulled up next to him.

"Lots of dead meat," the krogan noted, which was a strange comment, but not as surprising coming from him.

My eyes flashed to Tali at my side, who looked slightly flustered at the sight, based off her uncomfortable body language.

"Why would the Collectors leave a pile of bodies lying around?" Garrus asked.

Miranda crossed her arms. "Testing perhaps? It's possible they may have been trying to improve the effectiveness of seeker swarms…or…," she trailed off, likely because she realized she had no idea what she was talking about.

"Or whatever else these bastards please themselves with," I growled, the odd feeling beginning to get on my nerves. "Can't wait to do the same thing to them."

Grunt turned in my direction and laughed. "Heh-heh-heh."

Shepard returned to a standing posture. "Bad way to go…come on, let's keep moving."

I just wanted those bugs to die…their "inhumanity" was primitive and unjustified, and thus all they deserved was destruction. Nothing more.

After only a few minutes of walking, we came across what looked like a lab of some sorts; the test tubes mostly empty apart from one. That one…was filled with a Collector.

Garrus raised a brow. "Were they experimenting on one of their own?" he asked.

Shepard took a look before tapping into his communicator in his helmet. "EDI, I'm sending you the data in this console. See what you can find."

EDI had been linked up to all of our helmets, so her response came in through my own communicator. " _Data received. Analyzing_.

" _The Collectors were running baseline genetic comparisons between their species and humanity._ "

"Are they looking for similarities?" Shepard asked.

" _I have no hypothesis on their motivations. All I have are the preliminary results…they reveal something remarkable,_ " EDI filled in. " _A quad-strand genetic structure, identical to traces found in ancient ruins. Only one race is known to have this structure: the Protheans._ "

I had no idea what that meant, or how EDI came to that conclusion, but it nonetheless took me by surprise. These…things…these bugs…they were the Protheans before?

" _My god_ …," Shepard gasped. "The Protheans didn't vanish…they're just working for the Reapers now!"

The Reapers…right…the race of sentient machines apparently waiting to wipe us all from the face of the galaxy in dark space. _Sovereign_ , which I had only known to be Saren's flagship, was one of them…and he had thousands more waiting.

Or so Garrus told me a few days ago.

It's not that I don't believe him, since I've learned that doubting Shepard never ends up working out well, it's just the timing of it all. Why are we still here if the Reapers had already rolled through? It just didn't make any sense…or maybe I just didn't _want_ to believe it.

" _These are no longer Protheans, Shepard. Their genes show signs of extensive genetic rewrite. The Reapers have repurposed them to suit their needs_."

"The Reapers didn't wipe out the Protheans. They turned them into monsters and enslaved them," Shepard concluded, before turning to us. "Still, they're working for the Reapers now, and we have to stop them."

Tali sighed, shaking her head. "No species should have to suffer through that."

"Let's find what we need before the Collectors come to salvage this vessel. Move out," Shepard commanded, and we were back on the move.

There wasn't much that made me look away, but experimentation on living subjects was always something that bothered me. The immorality of it all made me shudder at the mere thought of the practice. It must've peered through, because Tali suddenly had her eyes locked on me while we followed Shepard.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Normally, I'd say I hate it when people suddenly become overly concerned about my wellbeing, mainly because of my cynical view on people in general. Omega was notorious for double-dealers and backstabbers, so I had just naturally attained an affinity for assuming the worst in people.

Tali was different, and it was beginning to stop surprising me.

"I'm fine, thanks," I replied, shaking it off.

Apparently, this ship was the same one that had destroyed Shepard's original _Normandy_ , as EDI revealed. To think that the Collectors had been gunning for Shepard since the beginning, I'd call it overkill, but maybe it wasn't enough…judging by the fact that he's still here.

We reached the central terminal that had been highlighted back on the ship, somehow still not running into a single Collector. My senses were beginning to tingle, and a bad feeling followed…a feeling that had saved my life on countless occasions. The Central Chamber was massive, filled with thousands of pods for holding their victims…and I could feel the fear of being trapped in one build.

I shook my head and groaned as Shepard approached the terminal. "Something doesn't seem right Commander…I've got a bad feeling about this."

"I agree," Miranda threw in. "This is too easy."

"Relax, you two," Shepard eased, running through the function of the console. "But stay sharp."

The next few minutes began calmly, until our entire platform shook once Shepard had linked the terminal with EDI. Everyone looked around in confusion until bullets began ripping through the air. The initial burst was held at bay by my kinetic barriers, but a high-caliber sniper round ripped right through them, tearing through my armor and ripping my flesh to shreds as it buried itself in my left shoulder. I screamed in pain, instinctively diving below to avoid any more enemy fire. My hearing was filled with the sound of gunfire, followed by a frantic Shepard shouting out orders.

"Take cover and spread out!" he shouted.

I could hear Tali screaming next. "Kibo's hit!"

"He'll live!" Garrus shouted back.

"Suppressing fire, now!" Shepard continued, his Avenger roaring in retaliation, followed by the sounds of Collectors screeching in defeat.

The pain wasn't stopping, but my tolerance for it was definitely above average, and I fought through each wave with grit teeth. My eyes panned over to the wound, my gloved hand covered in crimson blood where I had tried to minimize the bleeding. I was lucky…a few inches down and it would've severed a major artery, basically rendering my arm useless.

Grunt was roaring in the midst of battle as he gunned down multiple Collectors at once, but the enemy fire hadn't eased for a moment.

"EDI, get us the hell out of here!" Shepard shouted, which I figured he was referring to the control of the terminal.

" _I am simultaneously fighting threats on over 8000 firewalls. I am tasked to capacity_ ," she responded through our helmets.

Shepard grumbled in annoyance, but took a glance down at me, seeing the blood from my wound begin to puddle on the platform. "Miranda! See what you can do about Kibo's wound!"

"Right!" she shouted over the gunfire, and then proceeded to run to my side, taking a knee while Garrus and Tali gave her covering fire.

"Is he alright?" Tali asked.

I moved my hand away from the wound, allowing Miranda to get a look at what she was dealing with. On cue, she pulled up her omni-tool and held it up to my shoulder, applying medi-gel. Numbness swept through the area, and I groaned in relief from the effect.

"He'll be fine!" she replied, with her work finished.

"Thanks," I said, albeit a little embarrassed _she_ had to bail me out.

"Don't mention it."

She was back up and fighting in no time, but I was still stuck behind cover. The numbing effect of medi-gel made precise motor movements in my arm virtually impossible, so using my sniper rifle to retaliate was out of the question. It was extraordinarily frustrating not being able to fight back, especially after such a cheap shot like that.

Even so, EDI was soon able to regain control of the terminal, and the others cleared out the last of the Collectors just in time. With the threat passed, and Shepard reaffirming control of the platform we were standing on, my adrenaline had finally worn out. If it weren't for the medi-gel I probably would've screamed from the influx of pain that came, but it had done its job…thanks to Miranda. She had helped me…without hesitation…albeit on Shepard's orders, but nonetheless.

Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

Tali was in my face before I could even stand. "Are you ok?" she asked.

I nodded as she helped me up. "Yeah… _ugh_ …I'm fine."

She didn't seem convinced. "When I saw your barriers go down I-,"

"Tali," I cut her off, grasping her shoulder. "I'm fine." Luckily, she got the message and nodded, her shoulders and body language loosening up soon after. She just looked away however, which made me feel bad.

"Thanks for asking," I added, and she turned back, giving me a nod.

During our exchange, Shepard had linked EDI back into full control. "I knew you could do it EDI," he praised.

" _I always work at optimal capacity,_ " she responded, and suddenly the platform we were standing on began to levitate through the area.

"Did you get what we needed?" Shepard asked.

" _I found data that would successfully navigate the Omega 4 relay,_ " she relayed. " _I have also found the turian distress call that served as the lure for this trap. The Collectors were the source. It is unusual._ "

The platform reached its destination with a _thud_ , and I found myself struggling to regain my footing.

"Seems logical to me that they would have sent the initial message as bait," Shepard deducted.

" _No, it is unusual because turian emergency channels have secondary encryption. It is corrupted in the message. It is not possible that the Illusive Man would believe the distress call was genuine._ "

Shepard seemed intrigued, but I was beginning to piece it together myself. All this time, I knew to not trust Cerberus…and now we're learning that he was too incompetent to check the legitimacy of a distress call?

"Why are you so sure?" Shepard asked.

" _I found the anomaly with Cerberus detection protocols. He wrote them_."

Shepard erupted in a ball of fury. "That son of a bitch sent us right into Collector hands!"

Garrus sighed. "And here I thought I had my betrayal and attempted murder for this year."

I was infuriated…I _knew_ something like this was going to happen…and yet here I am, stuck in the middle of a Cerberus trap. With building anger, and nowhere to put it, I turned to the most obvious outlet: Miranda.

"Looks like your boss left us all here to die!" I shouted. "You knew about this!"

She grit her teeth. "You really think I'd approve of walking into my own trap?! I didn't know anything about this!"

"Enough!" Shepard shouted, pulling us apart. "We'll figure this out later! We need to get out of here before we're overrun!"

I still wanted to vent out my frustrations, but Shepard knocked me back into my senses. No one was going to escape with the two of us shouting at each other.

Shepard tapped into his helmet. "Jacob! We're coming in hot! Make sure the shuttle is prepped to get us the hell out of here!"

" _We're on it Shepard, but make it quick! We're getting a lot of movement back here!_ " Jacob responded.

Suddenly, a deafening buzzing sound started up behind us, and my eyes flashed back to spot a horde of seeker swarms gunning for us.

"Oh crap," Garrus gasped.

"Run!" Shepard shouted. "Move, now!"

The six of us broke off into a frantic run, our legs moving faster than they had since we set foot on this accursed ship. The seeker swarms were far too dense for Mordin's countermeasure to work, and being caught in that field meant death for anyone.

So we ran, as fast and as far away as we could.

The buzzing never stopped, and only seemed to inch closer with every step I took. My wound had been numbed by the medi-gel, but that didn't mean it wasn't getting worse with each turn and stretch of my skin, the ripped flesh giving way. I felt myself staggering as new pain emerged, the numbness being overpowered by my nervous system's will to let me know that my shoulder wasn't getting any better.

A dark, ominous voice sounded behind us as we ran.

 _Take Shepard and the male quarian. His immune system must be studied. Kill the rest._

Whatever that voice was, it was controlling the swarms, and it wanted _me_. It only enticed me to run faster…and in my panic, I became less aware of my surroundings.

We were nearly at the exit, and Jacob's team could be seen fighting off Collector drones at the end of the hallway, when my stumbling finally took root. My head hit the ground with enough force to knock an average being unconscious, but I was too stubborn to let that happen. Even so, the horrific buzzing began to overtake my hearing, and my nervous system broke through in that moment. Excruciating pain shot through my arm as the flesh tore itself once again, and I screamed. The others didn't have time to stop for me. If they did, then the swarms would only take them too, and losing one team member was better than two.

Even so, I grimaced in helplessness. _Not like this_.

A shotgun blast ripped through my hearing, and a firm grip pulled on my healthy shoulder. Tali's voice followed. "We're almost there Kibo! Come on!"

It was a boost of adrenaline. Suddenly the faces of my father, Garrus, and herself flashed before my eyes, and the pain stopped. I was back up on my feet in seconds, Tali running close behind. I could see the shuttle ahead, Jacob moving the escape team inside and waving his arms toward us. Grunt, who had ran ahead, jumped in first, followed by Garrus and Miranda, while Shepard stayed by the entrance for the two of us to reach him. With a last effort, I jumped into the shuttle, collapsing to the floor as the door shut behind Tali and the shuttle took off.

"Get us out of here, now!" Shepard commanded.

Before my vision faded to black, I heard her voice one last time.

"It's alright, Kibo. You're safe."

* * *

Senses rushed into me in a sudden flash, and my throat tensed as I emitted an unobstructed gasp. Next came light, and I shielded my eyes without the protection of a mask. After that, a hand.

"Relax, Victor," an aged female voice followed. "You're just waking up."

It took me a moment to realize that we were no longer on the Collector Ship…or that this was the afterlife. The face of Dr. Chakwas was disproof of that notion. Once it set in that I was in the Med Bay of the _Normandy_ , I allowed myself to relax with a few breaths.

"You're safe now," Dr. Chakwas assured me. "You're just recovering."

I shook my head, allowing my head to lay back in the operating table I was lying on. "Wh-where…m-my mask."

"I needed to remove your armor to treat the gunshot wound you had sustained. The medi-gel patch job had either been insufficient, or whatever you had to do to escape made your wound worse," she explained. "You're lucky. Without your immunity you would've likely died from exposure to a foreign substance."

"Did everyone make it out?"

She nodded without hesitation. "Yes. You were the worst, luckily."

I sighed, relief flowing through to release the panic that was building. "Thank you, doctor."

"Not a problem Mr. Price, it's my job. Now, I'll just need to run a few more tests to make sure you have stabilized, and then you'll be free to go."

She didn't take long, and once she had finished, I was in the Med Bay alone, doing my best to get my suit back on. Everything was custom-fit to my specs, and yet as I returned each part, I couldn't help but feel more dissatisfied. The notion of self-imposed restriction was beginning to fade away inside me…but I instantly realized the dangerousness of that thought.

 _It's not fair. You're a quarian. This is just the way it is._

It didn't make it any easier, but it did enough to help me complete the task…at least most of it. The mask was the final piece, and it was the hardest to return. I could see the glow of my eyes reflect onto the scratched visor that had covered my face for so long…and it felt like the cell door closing. Maybe…maybe just…

The sound of the door opening shoved the thought from my brain, and my mask was back on my face in a state of instinct. I looked up, and saw my visitor.

It was Tali. She looked unharmed, albeit a little shaken, judging by her posture; hands clasped together in front of her, along with the favoring of one leg at a time as she swayed.

"Hey," she greeted quietly, approaching. I turned in the table, letting my legs dangle as I positioned myself sitting towards her.

" _Hey_ ," I replied, but my mask hadn't finished calibrating, so my voice was emitted in a jumbled, robotic tone. A few smacks with my hand seemed to knock it back into shape. "Sorry," I apologized, this time unaltered. "How are you?"

She stopped just in front of me, her eyes struggling to stay in one position behind the purple haze of her helmet. "I'm fine," she replied unconvincingly. "I got out unharmed."

I couldn't help but notice her disposition. "Physically, maybe, but I've got a feeling something else is bothering you. Did the Collectors spook you or something?"

Suddenly, her eyes slanted downwards and her arms crossed. " _Really_?" she asked, annoyed. " _That's_ it?"

I froze, unsure of what I had done. "…Tali?"

"After what happened on that ship…you're acting like everything is… _normal_?!" she sounded off. "How can you be so _calm_?!"

I must've still been recovering, because nothing in my mind could answer as to why she was acting this way. "Tali…I…this is-,"

"You almost _died_ Kibo!" she shouted, her mask almost meeting mine as she lunged forward. "The Collectors were going to take you, turn you into… _whatever_ they're doing!"

I shook my head. "They _didn't_!"

"Ugh!" she groaned, turning away. "You're impossible!"

"Because of you," I finished.

She froze for a moment, and her frantic movement slowed. I continued, " _You_ got me out of there, Tali. Everything worked out."

"It's not that simple," she denied.

"It _is_."

"No, _Kibo_ , it's not!" she turned to face me once again. "You can't just brush something like this off anymore! You're too important…and when this mission is over…and I return to the fleet without-," she paused, the thought seeming to take a toll on her emotionally.

After a breath, she continued. "Admiral Gerrel knows you're with me."

I narrowed my eyes. "How did he-,"

"I don't know, but he _knows_. He sent me a message…telling me to do everything in my power to keep you alive so that you could return to the Migrant Fleet once our mission is complete. _Me_. The woman who couldn't even save her own _father_ , has been tasked with protecting the last hope for _any_ of us to watch a sunset without a mask. _Me_!" She then huffed, releasing the pressure that she had built during her outburst, and fell into one of the chairs nearby.

My head bowed…and just like when I had first met her, I had no idea what to say. There was no precedent present for me, and I didn't have any previous experience to get an angle at what she might be feeling.

"I-I don't know what to say…but what I do know is that you won't have to worry about me. I've been taking care of myself ever since my father died," I assured.

"This isn't a mission that you can survive _alone_. You-," she paused. "You can't be reckless. There's just too much at stake."

Something snapped inside me when she finished. "Listen to me. I don't _belong_ to that Fleet!" I said sternly, and her head popped up in shock. "They didn't care about my safety when I was an infant, so why should they start caring now?!"

"I don't know!" she replied, unknowingly. "B-but you can't die, Kibo, you just can't. You're too important to our people."

I couldn't believe what she was saying. All this time I thought she and I had become good friends…but maybe it all was as a duty to her people. The thought threw me for a loop…and I just couldn't look at her anymore.

"I see what this is. You never _cared_ about me. You just wanted to kiss my ass enough that I might come back to join your suicide war against the geth."

Tali looked as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "K-Kibo…I-I…that's not-,"

"I'm staying here," I stated, getting my things together. "I'm finishing this mission…but I am _not_ going to be some pawn for _your_ people."

I stormed out, not giving a backwards look…and revealing the hurt behind my mask.

* * *

 **Very rough chapter. I struggled with writer's block early on, otherwise I would've had this out sooner. This was a bit depressing, but necessary to shape the final two chapters of Part I. The next will introduce a very important character, along with a dilemma that will dictate the future issues of this story. Stay tuned.**

 **If you enjoyed, please follow/fav and leave a review! Thanks for reading!**


	8. A House Divided

**A House Divided**

Nothing was the same after that mission on the Collector ship. A near-death experience has a way of reminding people the gravity of their situation, and this was no different. If the idea of a "Suicide Mission" wasn't engrained before, it was now.

It affected Shepard, much less than the rest of us, but he was much more cautious; his risks becoming less ridiculous, and the selection of his team more tactical. I'm not exactly what you would call a "tactically adept choice", so my selections had become much more sporadic. I told myself that was the case, but Shepard always pulled the "you're still recovering" card on me when I asked for a deployment, which made me think it was more than that. Shepard didn't waste his resources unless it was necessary, and keeping someone with my combat skillset on the sidelines can't be healthy for the team. Maybe he was genuinely worried about my safety.

Or maybe it had something to do with me telling one of his closest friends to "not talk to me unless she _absolutely_ needed something."

I knew pushing Tali away was playing with fire, and would probably only end up hurting me more than anyone else, but it had to be done. The message needed to be sent, not just to her, but to the Migrant Fleet that I didn't belong to them, and if they expected me to just walk back into their society, it wasn't going to happen. They had their chance to use me, and they squandered it when they exiled my father and I to Omega. I still had no idea how Tali's father was involved, but I chose not to ponder it.

I'd be lying if I said staying away from Tali was easy…in fact it's been anything _but_. She hadn't necessarily done anything wrong, and I knew she only wants what's best for me, but I can't allow what I want right now to endanger my future…if I even have one. With or without her, the galaxy is going to keep spinning, even if it's a little bit colder.

"That's a load of crap, Kibo," Garrus scolded me in the forward battery room, while simultaneously tending to calibrations. "Please tell me you got that out of some psychology book."

I leaned forward as I sat across from him, observing his work. "It's bigger than what I want, Garrus. I can't change who she is. If it came down to me or the Fleet, you bet your ass she'd take the Fleet."

Garrus grumbled, his eyes still trained on his work. "That's not fair. You can't expect someone to betray their people for one person… _especially_ her."

"I'm not asking her to betray-,"

"It's _exactly_ what you're asking for," he cut me off, this time turning his gaze towards me. "Quarians can't go behind one another. There's just too much at stake. A couple of well-placed 'mistakes' could spell the end for their entire race. They don't get to charge ahead and think of the consequences later,"

He turned back to the battery. "If _you_ want to have a damn pissing contest with the Admiralty Board, fine…but _don't_ crucify Tali for staying loyal to her people."

The truth hurt, but I wasn't going to back down so easily, even if Garrus was right. "Listen…I-I'm just not good enough for her anyway. She's better off without me to get in the way of her loyalty."

"Maybe so," Garrus agreed. "But that's not for you to decide."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean: you don't determine your worth to someone else."

I scoffed. "I'm washed up trash from Omega, Garrus. I'm no hero. Tali's a damn hero…strong, passionate, fierce-," I caught myself before I continued.

"And you threw all of that away."

 _Maybe_. I thought to myself. I cursed silently as I crumbled under the weight of my decision, but never let Garrus have the satisfaction.

Suddenly, the ship rocked, and was followed by the sound of the intercom.

" _Garrus_ ," Joker called. " _Could use your help at the airlock. Shepard's coming in hot_."

"On my way," he replied, dropping his tools and rising to his feet. "Come on, Kibo. I can't imagine Shepard's escaping this Reaper unopposed."

Right, I'd been so focused on the conversation with Garrus that I had forgotten why we were even here. Apparently, Cerberus had deducted that to pass through the Omega 4 relay, an advanced Friend-Foe system was needed, or an IFF for short. The catch was that this system was aboard a derelict Reaper floating in the storm of a brown dwarf. He had elected to take a small team in, and decided on Tali, Grunt, and Miranda. We were left just waiting for them to return.

It didn't take long for Garrus and I to lightly arm up before reaching the airlock. Joker was fumbling at the controls at the bridge, fighting the rising storm that was resurging.

"They're pinned down!" Joker shouted. "They've got some cargo, and are going to need some covering fire!"

"Open the hatch!" Garrus ordered, pounding on the airlock door. I didn't have time to grab a submachine gun, so I held a primed Avenger assault rifle at the ready. Joker obliged quickly, and EDI had the hatch open almost instantaneously.

Wind rushed into the ship, battering my audio receptors in my helmet, forcing them to compensate for the increased noise. My footing faltered for a moment, but I was quick to adjust, aiming down the sights of my weapon. No enemy fire came, and I noticed that Shepard and his team were pinned down by nothing but those Husk creatures. With a slight smile at the prospect of a shooting gallery, I began to gun down as many as I could, the gun's roar a satisfying one as I squeezed the trigger.

Once the area was clearer, I spotted Shepard and Grunt toss their cargo in our direction, and the gravity flux taking hold as it floated towards us slowly. Its shape was odd…almost humanoid as it approached.

I couldn't believe it, but once I grabbed ahold, I realized that it was an intact geth unit.

Setting it down for the time being, Miranda came next, and Garrus and I were there to help her into the artificial gravity of the _Normandy_. Grunt and Tali soon followed with Shepard hot on their heels. Once the Commander was in, the airlock shut.

"We're clear. Get us out of here, Joker," he commanded.

* * *

"Thank you, both of you, for your recommendations," Shepard interjected with a raised hand, bringing an argument between Miranda and Jacob to a close. "I've made my decision."

Jacob seemed to concede, but his worry was still obvious on his face. "Tali's going to freak when she hears this."

I had stayed quiet over the course of the argument over what should be done about the geth unit Shepard had brought back, only throwing in an agreement with Shepard's decision. Hearing how the unit protected Shepard intrigued me, and my quarian inbred hatred for geth had been overwhelmed by my curiosity. Something told me deep down that this unit was important, for what I'm not yet sure.

Only Garrus and I had attended the meeting, the others either not caring or busy taking care of themselves, such in Tali's case. While Jacob was right about the prospect of her losing her mind over the presence of an active geth on the _Normandy_ , I also knew she was reasonable, so I doubted she would cause any problems.

"So, what about this Reaper IFF?" Jacob asked, using his omni-tool to display a holographic image of the device.

" _I have determined how to integrate it with our systems. However, the device is Reaper technology_ ," EDI answered before Shepard could ask her himself. " _Linking it with the Normandy's systems poses certain risks_."

"I trust you EDI," Shepard authorized. "I know you wouldn't let anything happen to the ship."

" _Understood, Shepard. It may take several hours before the IFF is ready for shakedown. I will alert you as soon as it is ready_."

"Sounds good, until then it's business as usual. Crew dismissed," Shepard finalized. "Kibo, stay behind. I need to talk to you."

I'll admit, I felt a chill when he asked me to stay behind, but I told myself it was nothing more than a chat. It seemed to work…until the room was only occupied by him and myself.

Shepard crossed his arms, and I was already feeling uneasy. "You've seemed distracted Kibo. Donnelly and Daniels say you're struggling to get anything done in Engineering."

 _They snitched on me?_ I grumbled. Nonetheless, I felt embarrassed, and tried to ward him off. "I'm fine."

Shepard narrowed his eyes unconvincingly. "I took you to the Fleet and helped Garrus take care of Sidonis. Everyone else is squared away and ready for the mission, but I know you're not."

I stayed silent, unsure of what to tell him, but he wasn't finished. "Want to tell me why Tali's been upset lately?"

Foolishly, I still tried to play oblivious. "She's upset? I didn't know-,"

Shepard took as step forward. "Listen Kibo, you can keep lying to me and force me to make a difficult decision, or you can be honest and this will be over with," he grumbled in annoyance. "Your choice."

I had now unintentionally backed myself into an inescapable corner, leaving me with the only choice of surrendering the truth to Shepard. If only I was better at lying.

I sighed and looked away, feeling an odd chill of embarrassment laced with annoyance before I spilled it out for him.

"I told Tali to stay away from me."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"It's complicated."

"Then you'd better make it simple," Shepard almost threatened.

I grinded my teeth behind my lips in frustration, doing my best to keep my cool. "All she cares about is my immune system. Once this mission is over, she plans to just hand me over to the Fleet to fight their war. I told her the Fleet can go to hell, and if that's all I mean to her, then she can too."

The Commander shook his head, a look of disbelief on his face. "What makes you think she doesn't give a damn about you?"

"Like I said, she's just going to turn me over to the Fleet."

"So, you think that because she's fulfilling a duty to her people, she doesn't have your interests at heart?" he asked, and then leaned in. "Because I _know_ that's not true."

I didn't know what to say to _that_. In fact, if anything it made me pause. That was either him vouching for a longtime friend, or him telling me that Tali really _did_ care a lot about me.

I narrowed my eyes. "Are you saying…,"

"You assume too much," Shepard finished for me. "I understand it, really I do. Growing up in a place ruled by deceit and terrorism can make you only see the worst in people…but you can't apply that philosophy to everyone. The galaxy is just too big, and not everyone out there wants to kill you, Kibo."

He didn't wait for my response after that, instead he just said, "Think about that," and left me in the room alone.

* * *

Shepard brought that geth unit back to life, by the way, not sure if I mentioned it. I'm not overly cautious, but _that_ gave me pause. Who knows what the hell that metal bastard is capable of, and judging by the geth I had already encountered, nothing good can possibly come out of this. But, like most things recently, Shepard didn't seem to give a damn about what others on the _Normandy_ thought.

So now there's a geth calling itself "Legion" walking around our ship…and it can talk.

Somehow Tali hadn't lost her shit…yet.

We were pulling up to the Sea of Storms System in the Phoenix Massing about a day later, which was bordering Geth Space, and we were apparently preparing to make a major strike against "Heretic" geth units…or whatever Legion called them.

As we approached a massive space station, Joker shook his head with uncertainty. "You know it's just our heat emissions that are hidden, right? They can look out a window and see us coming."

Legion's servos shifted as its eye petered in and out. "Windows are structural weaknesses. Geth do not use them," it then turned towards a console in the cockpit, seemingly hacking into the geth mainframe. "Approach the hull at these coordinates."

Joker rolled his eyes in annoyance, and then proceeded to mimic the movements of a robot while Legion turned away. I spotted Tali trying to hold back a laugh while Shepard gave him a tested stare.

"Access achieved. We may proceed," Legion relayed.

Joker eventually stopped his banter and raised his hands defensively to Shepard, before taking the _Normandy_ towards the coordinates Legion had provided. Once we were en route, Shepard turned towards Tali and readied his N7 helmet. "Once we're inside, I want a scan of the area. We need to know what we're dealing with."

Legion turned to join them. "Creator Zorah's scan will be irrelevant. We already have internal scans of the base."

"Forgive us for not trusting you, _geth_ ," Tali spat, before turning back to Shepard. "I'll get it done, Commander."

Shepard nodded, sealing his helmet. "You're coming too, Kibo."

I reared back, not expecting _that_. "I am?"

"Consider it your last chance to get focused," he made clear. "Make it count."

I could've sworn he flicked his head slightly towards Tali before he approached the airlock, and that made me worry. I wasn't ready to smooth things over yet, even if it was the right thing to do.

Tali looked around uncomfortably, but not enough to warrant it as a surprise, which lead me to believe she _asked_ Shepard to do this. That means she's either desperate to win me back for her people, or sincere.

Even so, I _wanted_ to be here, and if I had to let Tali back in to do it…it was small price to pay.

* * *

I never noticed Legion had a piece of N7 armor strapped to its chest until now, even if it was the blaringly obvious feature it held. I also almost got blown to bits by a geth hunter, only to be saved by Tali, so there's that. My perception and attunement for fine detail has never been my strength, even if my caution and reaction time were high-level. When you're trying to survive on Omega, you start to care less about how everything looks.

We had to drop in through an access hatch that Legion cut through, and we landed with a thud into a dark room leading to a hallway. If we're trying to find out why the geth like killing people, I'd go for the gothic setup on a hunch.

Of course, I'm keeping my stupid opinions to myself.

"Alert. This facility has little air or gravity. Geth require neither," Legion informed us.

Shepard didn't seem at ease. "Won't we be detected? Don't they have intrusion alarms?"

"Sensors have been reduced. We have infiltrated their wireless network and filled the data storage with random bits."

Whatever _that's_ supposed to mean.

"We've got a job to do, let's get to it," Shepard announced beginning to make his way down the hall, and Tali and I prepped our respective weapons.

"Shepard-Commander!" Legion called out, making Shepard turn back. "We concluded that destruction of this station was the only resolution to the heretic question. There is now a second option.

"Their virus can be repurposed. If released into the station's network, the heretics will be rewritten to accept our truth."

Shepard seemed to take time to process the information, likely weighing in on the possibility of a difficult choice. Tali took the time to step in.

"Either way, these geth won't be a problem anymore," she admitted. "But Shepard, think about this. If you rewrite these geth, they'll join the others. Legion's geth will be stronger. Can we trust them not to attack in the future?"

I couldn't just let that go unopposed. "In my experience, committing _genocide_ is usually the _last_ option considered to solve a problem."

She shot me a glance. "It's not genocide if they're not alive."

" _Really_?" I shot back, pointing to Legion. "Have you seen the talking geth right next to you? I'd say eliminating a large amount of its people falls under genocide."

I expected Tali to not like my comment, but she began to completely lose her cool. "They're _geth_!"

Shepard stepped in, grabbing ahold of her shoulders. "Tali! _Relax_ …"

Even with her mask, her eyes had a crazed look to them…filled with terror…as if she was in a state of panic. Guilt rushed over as I realized what had happened. The thought of a stronger geth collective would give most quarians nightmares, and Tali, one who put the weight of the entire Fleet on her shoulders, just couldn't handle it. In Shepard's grip, her frantic breathing slowed, and she was eventually able to grab ahold of herself.

"I'm fine…I'm ok," she huffed, pulling herself free. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Shepard eased.

"We did not intend to insight panic, Creator Zorah," Legion apologized.

"It's fine, I just…" she struggled. "Let's just get on with the mission." Shepard nodded, seemingly shoving his concern aside for the sake of the mission. Before we began, and when Shepard and Legion had gained some distance on us, I approached.

"Tali…I'm-,"

"I know I made a mistake, Kibo," Tali cut me off. "But you don't need to keep torturing me for it."

My heart sank to a point in which almost all hope had been drained from my essence as she walked away, and I could only pathetically reach out to her, my throat unable to muster even a whine. All I wanted was to make myself clear…but now I realize I was just too terrified to accept that my life was changing whether I liked it or not. In that state of terror, I turned towards the person closest to me…and unleased it upon her.

 _This_ is not what I wanted.

* * *

I just didn't say anything throughout our time progressing through the base. Like I said, keeping my stupid opinions to myself. I'd probably just villainize myself even further…if that was even possible. Inflicting a panic attack against someone I cared for was difficult to top without entering the realms of inhumanity.

Tali seemed to get ahold of herself nonetheless, she always did, but the prospect of either rewriting or destroying the heretics was still up in the air. I couldn't read Shepard, maybe because he was that unreadable, or he really had no idea what to do. Since the decision was out of my hands, I focused my attention on keeping my squadmates alive, Legion included.

We reached the geth terminal uplinked to the base's core within the hour, proving that Legion's schematics were incredibly efficient. The room was large, and the terminal was placed on an overlook, what looked like geth program housing below.

"This is it?" Shepard asked.

"Yes," Legion answered. "We will upload a copy of our runtime into the core. It will delete all copies of the virus. When complete, it will notify us.

"The indexing operation will take time. The heretics will respond with force to our upload. We must hold this room."

Hearing that, I began analyzing what we had to work with on the overlook. Our advantage was certainly the high ground, but if the geth made it up the ramps, there would be little we could do as far as cover.

Then I remembered what Tali's arsenal included.

"Tali," I called, waving her over. She seemed a little surprised but complied nonetheless. "I can fire from up top, but if those geth get up here, we're varren meat on a platter. I think our best bet is to have you watching my back, since you're so enamored with ke-," I stopped myself, realizing that I decided to _stop_ antagonizing her.

"Keeping you alive?" she finished for me, a hint of regret in her voice. "Kibo, I know it seems like the Fleet is all that matters to me, but I thought keeping you a secret from the Board was evidence enough that I still respected what _you_ wanted. I set aside a duty to my people because you deserved a life of your own choosing…but if that's not good enough,"

"No," I denied. "I was wrong. All you've ever done was be good to me and make me feel a part of something…and you don't deserve the way I've been treating you."

Tali sighed. "Well, maybe I needed a little reminder of whose ship I'm serving on."

I couldn't help but shake my head. "You're too kind, Tali."

"Only towards the people I care about."

I felt my heart leap for a moment, followed by an overwhelming urge to wrap my arms around her tightly. In that moment, I finally accepted how I really felt about her.

"Hey!" Shepard called out. "I need you two setting up. The geth are going to be here any minute."

"O-of course, Commander," Tali replied, making sure her Eviscerator was primed. "Let's go with your suggestion. While you fire from the overlook I'll watch your back."

I nodded in agreement. "Please do. I'd rather not have another hunter almost blow me to pieces."

"Of course not, only I'm allowed to do that," she replied as she took a knee behind the ledge of the overlook.

I wasn't quite sure if she was flirting, slinging banter, or threatening me, so I just chuckled. "Ok then."

I think I'd consider myself focused.

* * *

After a tough effort, we fought off the many waves of heretics gunning for the terminal. Below lay many lifeless geth bodies, some riddled with bullets, some with simple kill shots. The rush was incredible, but I couldn't help but feel somewhat at fault. I knew geth were machines, and these served the Reapers…but it still didn't feel right to just wipe them all out.

Unfortunately, what I thought didn't matter. The choice was not mine to make.

"Shepard-Commander, it is time to choose," Legion said, motioning towards Shepard. "Do we rewrite the heretics or delete them?"

I couldn't see his expression behind his N7 helmet but judging by the fact he didn't have an immediate answer, I'd say he was unsure.

"Why are you letting me make this decision?" Shepard asked. "They're your people."

"We are conflicted," Legion admitted. "There is no consensus among our higher-order runtimes: 573 favor rewrite, and 571 favor destruction.

"Shepard-Commander, you have fought the heretics. You have perspective we lack. The geth grant their fate to you."

No pressure.

Shepard still didn't have an answer, so he turned to Tali. "I think I already know the answer, but I need a quarian opinion."

Her gaze moved from Shepard, Legion, and then to me, where she paused for a moment. I could almost feel the conflict emanating from her as our conversation may have changed her mind. "Shepard…I'm not sure. Destruction would weaken the geth, and likely make it easier for us to retake the homeworld…but maybe genocide isn't the way."

That seemed to be all he needed. "I won't destroy more of your people, Legion. Rewrite the virus."

"Acknowledged," Legion accepted, and then moved to the console. "Alert: release of virus will result in a lethal radiation pulse. Recommend withdrawal to _Normandy_."

As we turned and ran for the exit, I don't think we realized the importance of that decision.

* * *

 **This was more of a set up for Part II, but the finale for Part I is next, as it will be the suicide mission. After that, we will be breaking away from the games for a few chapters until we make our way to the events of the third one.** **Thank you all for the support thus far!**

 **If you enjoyed, please follow/fav and leave a review! Thanks for reading!**


	9. To Jump Head-First Into Hell

**To Jump Head-First into Hell**

The _Normandy_ was normally quiet, as its engine was not much of a noise-maker to begin with. Its silent workhorse had propelled us through space for the past several months, and throughout that time, we've all become comrades...teammates, brothers, and sisters. While some still maintained a fair distance, they were still professional about it, knowing very well how important their mission was. The future of the galaxy depended on our success.

We all knew what came next.

Everyone had been squared away, past issues taken care of, last goodbyes made…and then the Collectors hit us. While the team was away, the Reaper IFF had activated, drawing the Collector Ship we hit right to the _Normandy_. Helpless against the invasion, the entire crew was abducted, save Joker, who had to unshackle EDI in a desperate attempt to save the ship. They had succeeded, but like he said,

"There's a lot of empty chairs in here."

Joker sat atop the briefing table, doing his best to push away the shock of the attack he had experienced. I had paced away, looking on and leaning on the back wall.

"We did everything we could, Jeff," EDI soothed.

"Yeah, thanks Mom," Joker groaned.

Shepard was taking the situation rather easy. "Is the ship clean? We can't risk this happening again."

"EDI and I purged the systems," Joker assured. "The Reaper IFF is online. We can go through the Omega 4 relay whenever you want."

Miranda, who was less than pleased, stood with her arms crossed. "Don't even get me started about unshackling a damned AI."

"Well, what can I do against Collectors, break my arm at them?!" Joker retorted. "EDI cleared the ship, she's alright."

I could feel the uncertainty emanating around the room at the prospect of a free AI, but if EDI really wanted to kill us all, she would've done it already, unshackled or not.

"I assure you, I am still bound by protocols in my programming. Even if I were not, you are my crewmates," EDI reasoned.

Shepard nodded. "EDI has had plenty of opportunities to kill us. We need all the help we can get."

"Sounds like we have everything we need to rescue the crew," Jacob figured.

"We've done everything we can. It's time to take the fight to the Collectors," Miranda agreed.

The commander nodded in agreement, and I felt a sudden fearful realization. "Joker, head back up to the bridge. The rest of you, to your stations."

The hour was nearly upon us all.

* * *

I didn't know what to do to pass the time. While we were approaching the relay, Joker still informed us it was going to be a few hours until we reached it. Knowing that this could be the last time I ever go through a relay, each hour was going to be excruciatingly long. I didn't know if it was fear or mild uncertainty, but I felt extremely uneasy.

I don't think I was ready to die.

The silence in engineering was unsettling, as both engineers had been abducted with the crew, leaving just Tali and I. She seemed a little more accustomed to ridiculous survival odds, but she was definitely not unaffected. Neither of us could sit still, trying to keep ourselves busy until the time came…both of us failing miserably.

So, the two of us just sat together in the drive core chamber, hearing its rumble in the background. We both had had a rough journey on this mission, whether it be my discovery and reclamation, or her having to balance the duty to her people that she cherished so deeply.

She had been so strong through the rough times, but I could not say the same for myself. I had done and reacted in terrible ways and was only picked up by her incredible spirit. Meeting her had been an incredible privilege, as she had made me feel at one with my people…even despite my situation.

"Tali, I…," I began, and she slightly turned her head. "I just want to say thank you…for everything you've done."

She chuckled, which I didn't expect. "You're welcome, Kibo."

"I'll admit, sometimes I didn't think I deserved it, but you never gave up on me," I said, starting to feel some emotions break through the surface. "No one's ever done that for me."

She playfully bumped her shoulder into mine. "Well, based on the card you had been dealt at birth, I'd say you've earned it. You don't give yourself enough credit for getting this far."

My head panned downwards. "Maybe. But that's no excuse for some of the things I've done."

Tali sighed. "Oh, Kibo. When are you going to stop worrying about what you've already done? There's nothing you can do about it now, so just let it go."

"Yeah…maybe you're right," I admitted.

I didn't realize it at first, but I had noticed that we had taken each other's hands in our own, almost as if it was instinctual. The warmth of her body was suppressed by her enviro-suit, but I could still feel it, and it had a natural calming effect to it. She had inched closer, and I could feel myself swaying towards her so that our bodies could be united.

Suddenly, she began to tremble. "Kibo…I was wondering…if you wanted to link our suits together."

I was aware of the practice, but I had never expected it to be asked of me. The ritual signified unbreakable trust between two quarians, as each risked their health to be together with someone they cared about.

Except…I wouldn't be risking anything.

"Tali…I'm not sure…you could get sick… _really_ sick…and I can't watch you die," I almost pleaded, more emotions breaking the surface.

"I know…but I've never trusted anyone enough for this…except… _Keelah_ I'm being so selfish…I'm sorry," she suddenly pulled away from me, covering her mask with her hands.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked, unsure as to what made her reel back.

She sighed and quivered, and I could practically see the roaring storm of emotions take place with her body language. "You don't need your suit…you can have something _real_. I can't give you that. You shouldn't waste your time with someone like me."

" _Tali_ ," I heaved, and gently grabbed ahold of her hands. She didn't object, instead both of our eyes met, preparing for what came next. "I-I watched you offer to sacrifice your place in your only home to preserve the memory of your father, while all I did was scold you for your carelessness. You saved me from the grasp of the Collectors on that ship…and you've treated me like another one of your people…always."

"You _are_ one of our people," she insisted, leaning in.

Joy had been something so rare to me, and yet that was all I felt around her. She made me feel like a man…like I was a part of something.

It was then I realized that this wasn't madness…this was love.

"I don't want anyone else. I want _you_ ," I declared. "You're everything I don't deserve…and yet here you are. I can't deny that anymore."

She seemed flustered, frantically trying to find the words to respond. "I-I wouldn't blame you if… _oh_ ," she realized, her hands relaxing in my grip as we inched closer. "No one has ever…thank you…Kibo."

Something broke between us in that moment, and awkwardness had escaped elsewhere for the time being…as well as some of my inhibitions.

"So…are you going to get a nerve stim, or what?" I asked.

Tali shook her head. "No…if I'm going to be with you…I want it to be _real_."

With that, I knew this was real. There was no ulterior motive behind this, no "good of the Fleet" reasoning. She was doing this for her…for _us_.

"I'll find a way…I _promise_ ," I said, holding her hands tightly. "We'll be together one day, without our suits…just _us_ …who we really are. I will help you take back our homeworld…for you…for _us_ …for everyone."

Our eyes both met, each glowing behind the smoke of our masks, but in that moment, we had never seen ourselves more clearly.

"I didn't know you could be so… _dramatic_ ," Tali joked, and we both laughed.

"Neither did I," I admitted.

She then placed her hand under where my chin would be, her eyes still locked with mine. "No more _bosh'tet_ stimpacks…next time, I want you _inside_ this suit."

 _That_ was unexpected, and her sudden suggestive demeanor made me tremble, the feeling of sweat dripping down from my face. I would normally associate this feeling with the heat of battle, combatants stuck in a deadlock behind cover, but _this_ …this was exciting, intoxicating, and it left me wanting _more_.

"Well, maybe you should get a sign that says: 'Reserved for Kibo'Xen vas Normandy'," I wittily replied, almost surprising myself with how debaucherously I had put it.

"Maybe I should," she replied, and then suddenly collapsed into me, her weight catching my unprepared as I fell onto my back. Her body laid on top of mine, spreading her legs so that her hips encompassed my own. Once I could recover, she had propped herself up with her arms, looming over me while still keeping her hips in contact with mine.

I could feel her body shivering in anticipation, as was my own, and our eyes locked once more. In that moment, a primal, animal instinct took hold of us both.

We ripped off our masks, and let nature do the rest.

* * *

We were through the Omega 4 relay within the next hour, and needless to say, it was a _bumpy_ ride. If Shepard hadn't had those armor, shield, and weapon upgrades implemented, I'm not sure everyone would've made it through the gauntlet alive. Tali and I had stayed safe, and while we knew what was at stake, neither of us had any intention of dying. After what had happened beforehand…we had something to come back to.

The _Normandy_ had crash-landed on the Collector Base itself, and EDI had confirmed that their external sensors were never equipped to detect us. With that, we were free to come up with a fool-proof plan for blowing these bastards back to Hell.

Wishful thinking, I know, but I've learned to stay positive through this journey.

The briefing room was full, as each and every member of our team has assembled with mixed feelings. Some were anxious to get moving, some whispering silent prayers to themselves, and the others preparing their weapons and armor. Even if our loyalties were squared away, it was obvious that no one was prepared for what came next. Tali was on my left, and Garrus on my right, no one who I trusted more at my side.

Shepard walked in, and it was suddenly all business; no more waiting, not more anticipation.

The time had come.

"This isn't how we planned this mission," Shepard began, approaching the front of the table everyone had assembled around. "But this is where we're at.

"We can't worry about whether the Normandy can get us home. We came to stop the Collectors, and that means coming up with a plan to take out this station," he announced, and then leaned forward. "EDI, bring up your scans."

"You should be able to overload their critical systems if you get to the main control center here," EDI explained, a holoimage of the base highlighting the section she was referring to.

"That means going through the heart of the station," Jacob recognized, using his omni-tool to alter the image. "Right past this massive energy signature."

"That's the central chamber," Shepard recognized. "If our crew or any of the colonists are still alive, the Collectors are probably holding them in there."

"Looks like there are two main routes," Jacob highlighted, the image showing paths towards the central chamber. "Might be a good idea to split up to keep the Collectors off balance, then regroup in the central chamber."

"No good, both routes are blocked," Miranda interjected, wearing her black and yellow battle armor. "See these doors? The only way past is to get someone to open them from the other side."

That was true, and unfortunate, because the splitting-up plan was nice and straight-forward, and probably the least likely to result in any deaths.

"It's not a fortress; there's got to be something," Shepard persisted. "Here, maybe we can send someone in through this ventilation shaft."

Yeah, someone that's not _me_.

"Practically a suicide mission," Jacob said, crossing his arms. "I volunteer."

Miranda shook her head. "I appreciate the thought, Jacob, but you couldn't shut down the security systems in time. We need to send a tech expert."

Jacob shrugged. "It's your call, Commander. Who do we send into the shaft?"

Shepard thought for a moment, and for good reason. The entire mission could be scrubbed after just the first obstacle if he chooses incorrectly. As for myself, I would've likely chosen Legion, since he's a geth…and can hack things.

This is why Shepard is in charge.

"We need someone with tech skills to hack that security system. Tali, you're up," Shepard made his decision.

I'll admit, my heart sank for a moment, even if I knew she was more than capable of doing it. The thought of her being given such a critical…

Maybe it's best not to think about it.

"I won't let you down," she promised with a nod. To show my confidence, I gave her a reassuring pat and rub on the shoulder, which I'm sure took some doubt off her mind.

"The rest of us will break into two teams and fight down each passage. That should draw the Collectors' attention away from what you're doing," Shepard followed up, and he could be damn sure I'd kill a trillion of those bugs before they laid their claws on Tali.

"I'll lead the second fireteam, Shepard," Miranda stated. "We'll meet up with you on the other side of the doors."

There were slight murmurs of discontent once she finished, and Jack shifted from leaning up against the table. "Not so fast, Cheerleader. Nobody wants to take orders from you."

Miranda slashed her hand through the air. "This isn't a popularity contest! Lives are at stake. Shepard…you need someone who can command loyalty through experience."

My eyes shifted to my left, and Shepard seemed to agree. "Garrus, you're in charge of the second team."

The grumbles and murmurs faded with his decision, and I believe he was the best option. He is the Boss after all.

"Well, at least he knows what he's doing," Miranda conceded.

Our plan was set, and we all knew the moment had arrived. Shepard paced in front of the table, looking at each of us. "I don't know what we're going to find in there, but I won't lie to you. It's not going to be easy. We've lost good people. We may lose more.

"We don't know how many the Collectors have stolen – thousands, hundreds of thousands. It's not important. What matters is this: _Not one more_. That's what we can do, here, today. It ends with _us_. They want to know what we're made of? I say we show them, on _our_ terms. Let's bring our people home!"

They started this fight, and we're here to end it.

* * *

This was it…Hell.

Words wouldn't be able to describe the incredible amount of enemy fire coming our way as wave after wave of Collectors desperately tried to punch through our defense. We had done it; Shepard's plan had worked to perfection, but the final stretch required a rear guard to hold back the Collectors that had followed our trail.

Nine of us standing between Shepard, Miranda, and Thane, who had gone ahead to complete the mission. Nine of us whose lives should've been extinguished long before this point. Nine of us who had fought side-by-side for a mission beyond our understanding.

Nine of us…who were going to kill every last one of these bastards.

My shield battery was beginning to make sounds I had never heard before and expunged thermal clips had piled into a heap of cold metal. My bones were beginning to strain under the constant demand for movement and adjustment, my muscles torn asunder from overuse, but I pressed on.

There was so much more to live for.

"Keep firing!" Garrus shouted over the deafening sound of continuous gunfire. "No one gets past us!" His assault rifle continued to roar as rounds punched through the skin of bugs trying to push forward. I was crouched beside him, pulling the lever on the side of my Viper for a fresh thermal clip. Female screams and biotic waves of energy followed as Samara and Jack unleashed the entirety of their power as soon as it returned to them. Grunt's blood-curdling cries could be heard as he fired his shotgun and assault rifle simultaneously in each hand, Zaeed firing with blood running down his face. Jacob, keeping pressure on a wound he had sustained, but defending valiantly. Legion's stoic look as he mercilessly mowed our attackers down.

Tali's shotgun fired, and the blast mutilated the head of a Collector beyond recognition. "Are you okay?" she asked as she ducked back down behind cover, and I was barely able to hear her.

"Just keep fighting!" I shouted. "We're going to make it out, I promise!"

"I never doubted that!" Tali shouted back, expelling the used clip. "I've got too many things to show you once we get home!"

I popped back over cover, firing a shot that punched clean through its target. "I'll hold you to that!"

"Keep your focus!" Garrus shouted from my opposite side. "I'm not losing the last member of my team!"

"You won't!" I promised.

The sound of shattering glass reverberated around me as my shield battery cried out for a recharge, and a round grazed the side of my left arm before I could drop below. My suit blocked most of the impact, but I felt it cut a thin gash, a blood began dripping onto the ground.

" _Shit!_ " I cursed, fighting the initial wave of pain. "My shields are out!"

Tali dropped back down behind cover, setting her shotgun down quickly. "Hang on!" she shouted, activating her omni-tool. After quick tech action, she pulled a cord from her suit, plugging it into my empty shield battery, and held the other end next to end of her omni-tool.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"A little quarian trick!" she answered. A bright burst of electricity fired from the end, and the energy latched onto the end of the cord, feeding into the battery. Almost on cue, the battery flared to life, and I could see the hexagonal shield layering return to protect me. "That should do it."

"You're a damn life-saver, Sparkplug!" I shouted, the nickname rolling off my tongue in the heat of the moment.

"Keelah se'lai, Kibo'Xen," she said as she returned the cord to her suit and picked up her shotgun.

Garrus ducked back down as I began to return fire once again, ignoring the biting pain from my wound. "I read you Shepard!" I heard him say. "We're holding, but I'd recommend we bug out soon!"

" _Head to the Normandy!_ " Shepard ordered. " _Joker – prep the engines. I'm about to overload this place and send it sky high!_ "

"Roger that!" Garrus responded, and then prepared to shout. "Everyone! We're heading back to the Normandy, move!"

It was a mad dash. After laying down some covering fire, we turned tail and ran down the path behind us, leaping from platform to platform. Jacob received "assistance" from Grunt in the form of being slung over the krogan's back as his wound had taken a toll on his run speed. Tali and I stayed close, helping each other past every obstacle that may slow us down. The Collectors kept up the pace, the horrific sound of their swarms biting at our heels.

Tali stumbled, and I had already grabbed ahold of her arm before she hit the unforgiving ground, allowing her to regain her balance. Her breathing was threatening to fog up her mask, likely from her filters struggling to push on.

"Stay with me!" I shouted. "If you die on me, I'll kill you!"

She suddenly surged, a survival instinct granting her new speed and fervor. "I'm…not…going… _anywhere_!" she huffed with a frightening intensity I had never heard from her.

My concern for her suddenly backfired, as I stumbled and fell to the ground, only hearing her shriek before my hearing was filled with nothing but a constant _ring_. A _crack_ followed, and my vision was impaired by a large lightning crack that my mask had sustained. Disoriented, I did my best to rise to my feet, to no avail.

Metal hands gripped my armpits and I was forcefully lifted from the ground with a strength unnatural. It was if I was gliding across the ground, until my hearing returned.

"We are here to offer assistance, Creator Xen," Legion's voice followed, his robotic strength able to keep me suspended as he ran.

"Legion, you beautiful metal bastard!" I shouted. "Get me back on my feet, would you?"

The geth complied, and his arms lifted my upright until I could get my legs moving underneath me again. "You are damaged," he noticed the cracks on my mask.

"We'll worry about that later. We're almost out of here!" I eased.

As soon as I finished that sentence, we reached the ten-foot wall that separated us from where the _Normandy_ was docked, and the squad mates ahead had already ascended it. Garrus had already helped Tali up, and she was returning the favor, helping Garrus over the edge. Legion reached it and jumped, his robotic legs propelling him atop in a single bound.

I jumped with all the strength I had left, and Tali caught my hand, almost screaming as she pulled. Garrus slid into assist, grabbing my other arm. After a great heave, I could reach the edge, and I began to pull myself up with my own strength.

Something grabbed ahold of my leg, and I struggled to use my depleted strength to clear the ledge. Tali, reaching for her shotgun, screamed,

"Let him go you disgusting _bosh'tet!_ "

A shotgun blast ripped through the air, and the weight on my leg was gone. With a last heave, I cleared the wall, both of us sprinting into the _Normandy_ with the rest of the crew.

"That's everyone Joker, go!" Garrus shouted as soon as we were aboard. The airlock shut, and we were thrown around the CIC, Joker forcing the _Normandy_ into a quick acceleration to meet up with Shepard.

As soon as I was able to get to my feet, Tali had wrapped her arms around me. "I thought I'd lost you."

I hugged her back. "I'm not going anywhere, Tali."

"Save the hugs for later," Garrus urged. "We need to get Shepard and his team aboard!"

The ship rocked as Joker came in, and Garrus, Tali, and I assembled at the airlock, and it suddenly opened wide. Thane and Miranda were ahead, able to run up a path of platforms as the Collector Base began to overload.

They were safely inside, but the path suddenly collapsed, leaving Shepard with a large gap between him and the airlock. With his built-up sprint, he leapt with all his might, flying through the air, his arms reaching out to the _Normandy_.

His arms latched onto the edge, and Garrus and I were there to pull the Commander aboard. "We have him Joker!" Garrus shouted as the airlock shut.

"Core detonation in 10…9…8," EDI warned.

"Yeah, I get the gist of it EDI, hang on!" Joker shouted, and the Normandy screamed and rocked as he tried to get as far away as possible.

An explosion sounded outside, and Joker hit the FTL just in time.

We had done it. The Collectors were gone.

And we had all lived to see another day.

* * *

 **PART I EPILOGUE**

 _Spectres embody our highest values, and are the right hand of the Council; our weapons to wield in a violent galaxy. You will be granted the power to act as you see fit, and take the actions necessary to keep our borders safe. There is no higher honor that can be bestowed upon you._

 _Lieutenant-Commander Diana Shepard, will you accept this prestigious offer?_

Consolation. Pity. Apology. Formality. Bullshit. Those words all accurately labeled the feelings she felt for the white symbol painted on the shoulder of her N7 armor. How she laughed when they told her what an honor it was to give the position to the half-sister of the man who saved their lives…and died on a mission _they_ sent him on. Pathetic.

Out of some twisted pity for the loss of the "hero" they had ignored, they granted humanity another Spectre…and shipped her back into Alliance space.

For two years _she_ was Commander Shepard, until her brother suddenly reappeared… flying Cerberus colors on a repurposed _Normandy_. Being a Spectre, joining up with her brother would've been one of the worst career decisions out there, and stacked onto the fact that she still held him responsible for Kaidan Alenko's death…a man she loved. So, even after helping him defeat Saren and the Geth, she stayed on the sidelines, serving as Councilor Anderson's top agent.

Reports came in a few months later that the Collectors had been destroyed by her brother after he engaged in nothing less than a "Suicide Mission" through the Omega 4 relay. A week after that, the Alpha Relay was destroyed, killing 300,000 batarian colonists in the system.

After speaking to Sovereign, she knew it was the Reapers…Anderson told her it was the Reapers…but she began to think her bother was losing his mind. All that sacrifice and little to show for it.

Then a shuttle arrived in Vancouver…a shuttle with her brother in chains.

 **END PART I**

* * *

 **That formally wraps up Part I of this story, and Part II will be in third person, stemming a bit away from Kibo'Xen. While he will still be a part of the overarching story, I want to be able to switch perspectives. It will be the waning months before ME3, and about half of it.**

 **If you enjoyed this first part, please follow/fav and leave a review! We're only just beginning!**

 **P.S. If you'd like to have input on Shepard's romance, please take part in my poll on my profile!**


	10. Stormfront

**MASS EFFECT: RESTITUTION PART II: REVOLUTION**

 **Stormfront**

Lieutenant James Vega briskly walked through the bustling main room of the Vancouver Systems Alliance HQ, the windows letting in bleak sunlight covered by a light overcast haze. Alliance officers stayed hard at work completing their various tasks, and the constant sound of conversation occupied his ears. The slight smell of wet asphalt could be detected, most likely making its way through the vents atop the ceiling. Rain in Vancouver was as common as him finding trouble…which was damn often.

Today was an exception however. In fact, today might've been the first to have something go right for him in a long time. Today he met _Commander Shepard_...although the more proper term would be he _guarded_ him.

Admiral Anderson's orders were clear: he was to be the only one to leave the shuttle as soon as they landed, and 7 of some of the best N7 troops would take the Commander to his… "cell". James had never seen more than one N7 Slayer in his life…and they put _three_ on the Commander just to make sure he made it down a few flights of stairs. Slayers were simply the best Vanguard warriors in the Alliance, outfitted with biotic technology he didn't care to even try to understand.

And yet _none_ of them compared to who he was on his way to see now.

He ascended the escalator into the Officer's floor, where he met the security checkpoint and the blue-dressed officer stationed there. Through the opening in the transparent glass, he slipped the small data pad Anderson had handed him upon his exit from the shuttle.

"Commander Thompson," he greeted with a salute.

The Caucasian officer nodded as he took the data pad in his seat. "At ease, Lieutenant," he replied, and James let his arm swing back to his side. Thompson looked through the message and eventually turned to his screen, where he typed in a few commands and swiped his badge through the console. "Here to see the Captain?"

"That's the plan, sir," James nodded, feeling a bit anxious to get going. The last thing he wanted to do was keep the Admiral waiting for too long, but he was feeling a bit nervous over his inevitable meeting.

Thompson inputted a few last commands before a light flashed green in the corner of his eye, and the security gate opened with a slight buzz. "You're clear to go Vega, just head down the hall and to the left. Her office is right there."

James took the data pad back from Thompson. "Thank you, sir," he stated before heading through the gate. The Officer's floor was filled with doors on each side of the hall…all filled with names of the highest ranked officers in the Alliance navy, aside from Fleet Admiral Hackett's, of course.

He cleared the opening hall and took the left he was instructed, eventually leading to his destination. Intimidation rarely took hold of him, but the holographic letters displayed on the door in front of him took hold.

 _Captain Diana Shepard, Council Spectre_.

The Council Specter insignia was placed below, and that alone made it feel like he was about to greet Hackett himself…but he didn't let that slow him. His finger hovered over the door alert, and a ding sounded inside.

"It's open," a female voice muffled through the door. James then promptly opened the sliding door, already readying his salute.

Diana shifted from leaning up against her window to a casual posture, a data pad in both of her hands. The overcast had now completely covered the sun, so no bright rays flooded the room. Her short, but slightly lengthy black hair, light-brown skinned face and chocolate-colored eyes turned to face him, the gray body armor with hints of gold lining hugging the curves of her body aside from her shoulders, where the star and four bars of the Captain insignia hung over their edge.

"Captain," he saluted, albeit holding some shock at her appearance…holding little to no resemblance to the Commander. It was no secret to the Alliance regulars as to who she was related to.

"Lieutenant Vega," she replied, and gestured for him to lose his stance at attention. "Come in." James obliged, letting the door close behind him. She then placed the data pad onto her desk and turned back towards the window. "What can I do for you?"

James got right to business, not comfortable with his regular flirtatious routine when it came to women. "Admiral Anderson has requested to see you. I'm here to take you to him."

She scoffed and shook her head with a smile. "What, does he think I can't take myself?"

James stayed quiet, unaware of her meaning by the comment. She eventually turned her neck until one of her eyes locked onto him, half of her smile visible. "That was a joke Vega, you can laugh."

He nodded and smiled, feeling the formalness of the meeting loosen. "I'm sorry Captain…it's just that…well your-…the _Normandy_ crew are people I hold in high regard, that's all."

Diana turned to face him, her back leaning against the glass. "You can say my brother, it's fine. He was the _first_ human Spectre after all."

James's head drooped as he felt himself caught in his slight bluff. "With all due respect ma'am, you _do_ outrank him."

She chuckled. "That I do, Lieutenant…even if it doesn't feel that way sometimes," she then moved to her desk, picking up her physical ID before using her omni-tool to shut down her systems. "Well, lead the way."

"Of course, ma'am," he responded, and lead her back through the halls. The two of them were silent until they passed the security gate, when Diana spoke up.

"Tell me about yourself Lieutenant,"

James was taken a bit by surprise as they entered the escalator down to the main floor. "Ah, well…everything's in my file. Ex-Delta Squad, spent two years stationed on Fehl Prime until I had an incident. I was offered an N7 commendation, but I turned it down. That's about it."

Diana crossed her arms as they were only halfway down the escalator. "Why'd you turn it down? It's not easy to get into the N7 program."

His eyes seemed to fade off, and his attention was elsewhere for a moment. "Sorry Captain," he eventually came back. "I don't want to talk about it."

Diana nodded in acceptance, already remembering the events that took place on Akuze all those years ago. The thresher maws ripping through countless Alliance soldiers; her friends being exterminated one by one via the massive jaws of each of those beasts.

"We all have one of those," she empathized as the escalator reached the bottom. James then lead her through the crowded main hall towards the landing pads, and then made a right for the flight of stairs leading down into the security wing.

Diana noticed wet footsteps on each of the stairs, all resembling the boots she wore, which were N7 Slayer standard issue with a ring shape in the puddle around the center of the foot. The ring under their boots were used as biotic amplifiers to allow them to seemingly teleport a short distance when using their swords. It wasn't teleportation…more like bursts of invisibility mixed with biotic warps to make them virtually weightless for a brief moment.

James walked up to the security gate for the detention level and activated his omni-tool, waving it in front of the sensor. Diana already knew the drill, and since James was not granted high enough security clearance to enter on his own, she followed suit. As she waved her omni-tool, James was already on his comm-link, contacting Admiral Anderson.

"Yeah," she heard him say. "Yeah, she's here. We're on our way."

The gate cleared and opened, but Diana was beginning to wonder why they would meet in the detention block. "Bad time to ask why we're down here Lieutenant?"

James hesitated for a moment, and she already knew that this was big just from that. "You'll see in a moment, Captain. We're heading to cell C07."

That was two levels down from here, which meant that whoever they caught was considered dangerous and likely to escape from any level higher. James turned towards the elevator and allowed her to enter before he inputted the code his was given from Anderson. As the doors shut, Diana became anxious.

"I don't like being kept in the dark Vega, just tell me what's going on."

He sighed. "I can't. Admiral's orders. He doesn't want it spreading around Headquarters just yet."

She dropped the idea of pulling rank after that, knowing well enough that disobeying an Admiral was a bad career move, and that Anderson wouldn't keep her in the dark without a good reason. After Shepard "died", they had become very close as they worked together, in a mentor-student sense.

The elevator came to a stop and opened, revealing the moderately-lit C-Cell block, lined with the wet footsteps she saw before. James, however, did not move.

"He's waiting for you," he said as she exited, causing her to turn back towards him.

"You're not coming?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No…I-I don't think-,"

"Come on out Lieutenant," a male voice sounded to her left, and she instantly recognized it as Admiral Anderson. "You're in on this too."

Diana turned towards Anderson without any stand at attention. "Admiral."

"Captain Shepard," he greeted as they shook hands. "Thanks for coming on short notice. We've…had a development," he started, and then ushered her to follow him down the cell hall, James close behind.

"Something that involves N7 Slayers on guard duty?" she asked.

"2 N7 Destroyers and 2 Paladins as well, if you're counting," he added.

"A little overkill, don't you think?"

Anderson shook his head as she began to see the two Destroyers stationed outside their destination. "I _wish_ it was."

As they came to the cell door, Anderson waved his omni-tool, causing a loud buzz to sound as the lock came undone on the cell. Diana watched as the door opened, and her eyes widened.

The prisoner sat on the cell bench, his head drooping over, but she didn't need to see his face to know who he was. His wrists were cuffed, but his armor had been stripped, leaving just the fabric body armor.

It was her brother.

* * *

The cigarette grinded against the metal tray in the arm of his chair until its smoke dissipated out of sight, before the hand doing so let it lie. His blue, almost cybernetic-looking eyes shifted as they observed the various vids and data surfing through his large, holographic screen.

The Illusive Man was used to things going his way, at least since he founded Cerberus just after the end of the First Contact War. His influence was second to none in the galaxy, and that couldn't have been made more obvious after the success of the Lazarus Project.

He just never expected it to backfire on him so spectacularly.

When Miranda Lawson had first reported to him that Shepard was alive and moving, he knew there would be costs to their partnership. The Commander was an Alliance soldier and hero at heart, and he proved that when he sacrificed a third of the human fleet to save the Citadel Council and destroy Sovereign. Personally, the Illusive Man would've never wasted human lives on such an action, but he couldn't argue with the results. His selfless act had established humanity as a respected member of the interstellar community, and trust had become much easier to come by among the other species.

That, in the end, was what convinced him to spend nearly 4 billion credits worth of interstellar currency to bring him back to life after the Collectors had murdered him. He was the symbol of human perfection.

His perspective of Shepard changed after he refused to preserve the Collector Base and all the secrets it held to potentially help secure human dominance in the galaxy. It was the first time he had truly been burned on a deal since he had begun this work, and it left a horrid taste in his mouth just thinking about it, along with the fact that one of his best agents had betrayed him in the process.

Even the _Normandy SR-2_ was unsalvageable. After multiple attempts to shut it down, they were eventually punked by the now unshackled AI he had installed, via seven zettabytes of explicit images.

It was just now that he had given up on his old investment and set his sights back on the true enemy: the Reapers…but even that was hitting a snag.

He was currently engaging himself in an information war with the new Shadow Broker, or more commonly known as Dr. Liara T'Soni, who was seemingly after the same thing. Even after trying to reason and eventually warn her against confrontation with him, she still refused to pool their resources. Another one of Shepard's backfires.

The games had to end, and he knew it. His communicator opened as he consulted his console via the right arm of his chair. Within seconds, a figure appeared, clad in Cerberus uniform.

"General Petrovsky," he greeted. "Start your invasion."

The bearded man nodded. "As you command." He didn't keep him much longer, swiping the communication away with his hand.

It was time to go on the offensive.

* * *

Anderson shut the cell door behind Diana after turning up the brightness in the room, leaving just the two Shepards to themselves for a moment. Neither of them made a sound for what felt like an eternity. Shepard's chains rattled as he shifted on the bench, feeling the weight of his half-sister's presence press down on him. Diana stood with her arms crossed, her fingers slowly balling up into fists.

Shepard looked up. "It's good to-,"

"Cerberus _bastard_!" she yelled as she leaned forward, using every bit of restraint she still had to keep herself from assaulting him. "You _son of a bitch_! You're a God-damned _traitor_!"

He rose to his feet defiantly. "I did what I had to do!"

"How dare you try to justify this!" she retorted with a pointed finger. "I-…I," she struggled, feeling the anger inside begin to run out, and her reasons to be angry with him dissipate. Tears never came, but she could feel them screaming to be released, almost as bad as the night after what had happened on Virmire.

She turned away, gritting her teeth. "You…you were…you were _dead_. I _saw_ you get sucked out into space after _I_ couldn't reach you in time."

Shepard sat back down and let out a long sigh. "It's not your fault Diana. Cerberus rebuilt me…brought me back. I had to stop the Collectors, and they were the only ones who seemed to care."

Diana shook her head. "Why didn't you come to _me_? I would've helped you!"

"Too much time had passed," he reasoned. "And I thought…because of Kaidan…"

Her eyes shut, tears poured out, but no sobbing followed. " _John_ ," she heaved, turning towards her brother. "I don't blame Kaidan's death on you…I _never_ did. I was just…"

"I know," he acknowledged. "Ashley said the same thing on Horizon. I should've come back…but I just didn't see any other options."

Diana's teeth grit for a moment as Ashley's name was mentioned, but her frustration dropped as quickly as it arrived. Seeing her brother again had reopened wounds she thought she had buried away, and she was beginning to agree with his reasons for not coming to her.

After a few more moments of silence, she moved towards the cell door and knocked, signaling to Anderson that it was ok to come in. However, when the door opened, Fleet Admiral Hackett stood in his place.

She shuffled abruptly to a salute. "Admiral Hackett."

He raised his hand. "At ease, at ease Captain," he then entered the cell with Anderson close behind, followed by Lieutenant Vega and,

"Gunnery Chief?" Diana recognized Ashley Williams, not bothering to mention her name out of a natural spite.

"Captain," the black-haired Caucasian female replied, both of their eyes locking for an intense moment.

 _Why you and not Kaidan?_ She thought to herself.

The cell door shut and the two of them broke off, awaiting to see what brought Hackett all the way to the detention block.

"Commander Shepard," he greeted. "Sorry to bring you in like this. We'll promote you to house arrest as soon as we can."

"Thank you, Admiral," Shepard nodded.

Hackett then turned to Diana. "We have an assignment for you, Captain. Of course, since you're a Spectre, you don't have to accept it."

Diana raised an eyebrow. She hadn't received an assignment from Alliance Command since she had been made a Council Spectre. "I'm listening."

"The Alliance Committee and bass at Arcturus isn't as convinced about the Reapers and won't be taking any official action. Even so, I'm dispatching you, Gunnery Chief Williams, and Lieutenant Vega to Hagalaz, where you will find, and extract Dr. Liara T'Soni before Cerberus forces capture her. From there, you will transport her to our alliance outpost on Mars, so she can help us decipher the Prothean archives."

Diana remembered Liara, the asari that had helped them take down Saren two years ago. She hadn't spoken to her since Shepard had disappeared. "Why is Cerberus after her?"

"She's the Shadow Broker," Shepard revealed. "I helped her take control of the original's network."

" _Ho, shit_ ," James whispered to himself.

"Exactly," Hackett confirmed. "She is vital if we are to discover a way to fight the Reapers when they get here. That's why we're sending you."

Diana nodded. Liara was a friend, and she'd be damned if she let Cerberus get her.

One question still remained. "Do we get the _Normandy_?"

She saw Shepard grimace slightly, but Hackett shook his head anyway. "No, it's still outfitted with too many Cerberus assets. We've only just begun retrofitting it. We'll be providing you with sufficient transportation."

Diana sent a look towards Admiral Anderson, and he nodded. That was all she needed.

"I'll do it."

* * *

The Migrant Fleet remained stationary, its thousands of ships floating through the empty vacuum of space. In the distance shined the star of Tassrah, a system placed in the Phoenix Massing, one Mass Relay jump from the Far Rim of the Milky Way galaxy. Their three Liveships, the _Rayya_ , _Shellen_ , and _Inaria_ , were surrounded by multiple gunships, sparks flying with each adjustment made. The Civilian Fleet saw the same effect, the work being done to them violating a treaty in place for 300 years.

The quarians were preparing for war.

Kibo'Xen vas Normandy had only arrived a few days ago, once Commander Shepard had turned himself over to the Human Systems Alliance, he truly had nowhere else to go. Aside from the fact that he had promised Tali he would join her in returning, he was still unsure that he had made the right decision.

"We should be charging you with treason, Han'Gerrel," Admiral Zaal'Koris spat, occupying one of five chairs in the Admiralty Board Room on the _Inaria_. "For two decades you knew of Kibo'Xen's existence, and you told us _nothing_."

Kibo kept his eyes looking out the viewing window, waiting for the argument to finally blow over.

"It was Rael'Zorah's decision, Koris," Han retorted. "Are you going to question _his_ resolve? We couldn't let a false hope push our people down the wrong path."

" _Wrong path?_ " Zaal growled. "Kibo could've inspired our people to move on from the failures of Rannoch and strive to find a new world to settle."

Admiral Shala'Raan interjected. "Maybe so, but the rest of our people would still never be able to adapt in time. We'd put our entire existence at risk."

"And who's to stop the geth from attacking us again?" Han warned.

"Precisely," Daro'Xen agreed, who hadn't said a word to Kibo since he had arrived. "I haven't spent my life developing weapons just to see them not used as they were intended."

Zaal'Koris was outnumbered once again, a feeling too common recently. His eyes panned to the empty chair that Rael'Zorah used to sit in, but even if they were on his side, 3 votes were all that was needed to begin their march on Rannoch. "This war will destroy us."

"With Kibo'Xen, it will free us," Han insisted.

Kibo, who's annoyance had been building, finally turned away from the viewing screen. "You all seem _convinced_ that I'm staying here."

Han'Gerrel's eyes signified a confused look from behind his mask. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I haven't made it clear whether or not I've committed to this Fleet, and I won't unless my list of accommodations is met," Kibo made clear, crossing his arms.

Raan narrowed her eyes. "You don't get to make demands of us!"

" _Oh_ , I disagree," Kibo shot back. "The only reason I'm here is because of a personal request from Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. If it weren't for her I would be on Palaven, helping Garrus Vakarian assemble his Reaper Task Force, or back on Omega, helping Aria T'Loak fight off Cerberus."

Kibo leaned forward, his fingers pressing on the table. "I don't belong to you. You all forfeited that right when you exiled my father and I from the Fleet. So, if you want me back, here's what you're going to do-,"

Raan frivolously shook her head. "We will not be intimidated into giving up-,"

"Relax, Raan," Xen jumped in. "Let's hear what he has to say."

The Admiral let out a huff, but Han'Gerrel nodded in agreement with Xen, and she backed down.

"Thank you," Kibo said. "First, I want full citizenship, no Pilgrimage, and my name will remain 'vas Normandy'. Second, I want a living quarters and new suit, and I don't just mean a suit, I mean a _suit_."

"I've already had that arranged, actually," Xen noted, and Kibo looked surprised. "I'm sure you will be satisfied."

"Very well," Kibo accepted. "And one more thing," his head flicked towards the empty chair. "Tali'Zorah will be the newest Admiral."

Zaal'Koris raised his hands. "Well, now, let's not be unreasonable. Tali'Zorah is far too young to be an Admiral. Why would we want that?"

"I don't fucking care," Kibo made clear. "This is what's happening, and if it makes you feel any better she knows more about the geth than anyone in this room, which makes her more than qualified to take the position."

"All _true_ ," Raan considered.

Gerrel nodded. "I think it's a small price to pay for Kibo'Xen's commitment. We've already made arrangements for his housing, full citizenship is reasonable, and as Xen said, she already has a suit for him."

Raan sighed as she conceded. "Very well, you have a deal, Kibo'Xen."

* * *

Day One was the hardest for Kibo'Xen. Gone were the days of personal space and freedom to move around as he saw fit. Life aboard a quarian vessel was cramped, cold, and noisy, and Tali had done her best to help him get acquainted with everything she could. He had many questions, and she tried to answer them all, but a lifestyle transition like this was going to take time.

The _Neema_ , Tali's original home ship, was where they both had been placed despite still belonging to Shepard's _Normandy_ according to quarian law. Han'Gerrel had personally requested it so, as he was the Captain, and wished to keep Kibo in close proximity. Kibo didn't like Gerrel keeping tabs on him, but having an Admiral close had its own advantages…as did _sleeping_ with one.

Kibo was smarter than that though, and knew Tali was going to push the agenda _she_ saw fit, even if she was still hesitant on being handed the title of Admiral. Even so, that is the reason he _wanted_ her to take the job. Tali was free from political influence, and he knew she would always do the right thing, even if it wasn't popular. A leader like that is what the Fleet sorely needed.

While he didn't have his own living space, due to the fact that the Fleet didn't have enough space for everyone to have their own, he was allowed to move in to Tali's old space. She had no objections whatsoever, since the death of her father left her as the last surviving member of her family. Quarians were only allowed to have one child to keep a cap on population, but more would be allowed in a time of need. Thus, brothers and sisters were rare.

Kibo had not run into Fia'Xen vas Neema, the half-sister he had met during Tali's trial, yet, but knew she would turn up eventually aboard the _Neema_. The trials of the first day simply had not allotted him enough time to search for her.

As the lights had dimmed in their section of the ship to signify the night hours, Kibo laid back in his bed, looking up at the gray ceiling above. Around him hung long cloths to act as walls for each living section, and he had already been yelled at for running his hand along them, disturbing the other side. He did his best not to listen in on his neighbor's conversations, but they were far too close to disavow.

Taking off his mask was strictly forbidden, as it could be lethal for everyone living in his section, so he would have to reaffirm the restriction he had violated on the _Normandy_. Besides, his existence was still not public knowledge, so as far as his neighbors were concerned, he was just like them.

He turned his head, looking down towards the mahogany carpet below, which was a comforting lie that let him escape the fact that he was stuck on a ship. Across was Tali's bed, and she was out dealing with her new duties as Admiral. Other than that, there was a single vidscreen atop a nightstand, and that was all he could live off of. At least the food was better than the dextro-sludge on the _Normandy_ he had to endure.

He considered getting up and taking a look around, but the cloths ruffled at the entrance, and Tali stepped through. She was slightly slouched over, but the sight of Kibo helped improve her overwhelmed mood.

"Hey," she greeted, her voice sounding different, as she had been speaking far more than usual today and her throat had been strained. "Are you settling in alright?"

Kibo sighed, his eyes looking back through the entrance. "This gets to me, Tali," he said, pointing towards the wall visible through the ship. "This is where we _live_ …and that… millimeters of metal and then _nothing_ , out there for millions of miles that'll kill us in seconds."

Tali nodded, taking a seat on her own bed. "It's not much different than Omega, when you think about it. It was just one, big space station."

"Maybe," Kibo admitted. "But it felt like a planet…here it's…just not what I'm used to."

"It'll take time," Tali eased. "But I'll be here any time you need me."

"I know," Kibo smiled, but was invisible to her. "How'd it go with you?"

Her eyes panned down, and she sighed dejectedly, which was not what Kibo expected. "I'm not sure I want to be an Admiral, Kibo. I'm honored…but I just don't know."

Kibo rolled onto his back, looking up at the ceiling again. "The Fleet needs you, Tali. I know it may be difficult, but you're the best choice for the job."

"Maybe…but I…I don't think I'm ready, especially if the Fleet is gearing for war against the geth."

" _Tali_ ," he interrupted her before she could continue. "You're the strongest damn woman I've ever met, so don't ever tell me you can't do something," he said firmly, taking her by surprise as he sat up in his bed. "You fought off the geth at the Citadel, told Saren to go fuck himself. You joined Shepard, even if his mission was sponsored by Cerberus, and you did it because you _believed_ in him. You never stopped pushing me to be better because you _believed_ in me."

Kibo then knelt before her, taking her hands into his. " _I_ believe in _you_. The Admirals believe in _you_."

Tali laughed, throwing her head forward, and that left Kibo confused. "You don't need to _testosterone_ it for me, Kibo."

Realizing that he had overdramatized it, he scoffed and moved to take a seat next to her. "Sorry…maybe being cooped up in here has forced me to store a lot of aggression. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

"Oh, no, no, no," Tali shook her head. "What you _said_ was perfectly fine, it was just the _way_ you said it."

"Oh! Good," Kibo recognized. "That's what I was going for."

Tali laughed, and then began staring into Kibo's eyes, making him cock his head in wonder. "See something on my mask, Sweetheart?"

"You say you've got some cooped-up aggression?" she said, suggestively raising her shoulder.

" _Ooohhh_ , you naughty-," he mused before she leapt atop him, their masks crashing together as their bodies entwined. After letting the initial lustful madness pass, Tali began walking her fingers over his chest.

"You know, they have something called a Clean Room, where you can… _relieve_ some of this aggression," Tali said, her hips shivering against his.

"Are you sure?" Kibo asked. "Last time you said your nose was filled with something you couldn't even _describe_."

Once again, something had gripped ahold of Tali, and she had become a completely different person.

Her hand grabbed ahold between his legs. "And it was _totally_ worth it."

Kibo savored the incredible sensation, leaning in towards where her ear was supposed to be. "Then why are we still lying here?" he whispered, sending a chill down Tali's spine.

"Hey!" someone yelled from the other room. "You _bosh'tet_ , knock that off!"

They both snapped out of their moment, and Kibo was so frustrated he just yelled, "Kiss my ass, fuckface."

" _Shhhh_ ," Tali hushed, trying not to laugh. "Kibo!"

"What did you say?!" they shouted back.

Tali tried to keep him quiet, but Kibo raised a finger for trust. "I _said_ , I've got a Carnifex hand cannon right here," he replied, using his suit to mimic the sound of a loaded weapon. "Her name is Sally…and she's _fucking_ hungry."

They heard a gulp. "S-sorry!"

Kibo winked to Tali, still hovering above him, and she just shook her head. "You are forgiven."

After a long sigh, she cocked her head. "So…Clean Room?"

Kibo nodded vigorously. "Clean Room."

* * *

 **I want to thank everyone for the support I've received thus far, and I'm proud to begin part II of this story. Most of this will be completely original, portraying events leading up to the Reaper invasion, as well as setting the table for Mass Effect 3. While this part will eventually fall into the events of the third game, be prepared to step away from Commander Shepard for the time being.**

 **If you enjoyed, please follow/fav and leave a review! Thanks for reading!**


	11. Revelation

**Revelation**

Fia'Xen vas Neema was not like other quarians, even if her appearance argued otherwise. Her everyday suit was nicer than most, the material and fabrics originating from a prototype eezo composite, and her youth meant it had not seen as much wear and tear as others. Being the daughter of Admiral Xen also had its advantages, and her purple-red colored smoke covering her face supported that notion. The environmental control systems in her suit were prototype, and the uncommon red hue was the result of experimental medical and electromagnetic enhancers.

She was naturally smart, and when Admiral Gerrel needed something done right aboard his ship, she was the first one he called.

Which is why she was awake during designated night hours making sure the drive core was ready to jump through the Mass Relay. She also knew she was going to be a part of the initial strike force once they reached the Far Rim.

So, to say she was feeling on edge would be an understatement.

Her eyes remained trained on her work, making sure the eezo dispersers dispensed properly. The drive core on a ship like the _Neema_ was huge, towering almost fifty feet as it was in charge of FTL and Mass Relay travel. Around the large sphere were various tubes and devices that complimented its work, and she walked along the maintenance hallways and catwalks as she listened to the noises the machinery made. Years of space travel had allowed the quarians to become adept in noticing differences in machine performance, as their very lives depended on it.

Everything sounded in order, and Fia closed up her datapad with satisfaction. She much preferred a fight over machine work, even if she was good at it.

Her ears perked up under her helmet as the sound of footsteps approached. "I've finished my run, Fia."

That man was Kan'Jaal vas Neema, and his orange suit stuck out just about anywhere. He was six inches shorter than she, in fairness she was taller than most quarians, but still considered short. While his technical prowess was second to none, his social skills were another matter. Spending too much time fixing engine parts saw to that.

She dismissively glanced at him. "No problems?"

Kan shook his head. "Everything is working, the power fluctuators, eezo dispersers, emergency couplings-,"

"I get it, Kan," Fia cut him off. "I don't need a recount of everything you checked."

Kan wasn't fazed by her bitterness, as it had become common around the ship to just let her vent when necessary. Not allowing her to vent could be…dangerous.

"I know," he said, fidgeting. "It's just…Tali'Zorah's back, and I haven't seen her in so long, I can't wait to-,"

"Admiral Zorah's been back on the _Neema_ for a week and a half," she noted, making her way past Kan and toward the Drive Core exit. "Why haven't you spoken to her if you're so eager?"

He tried to keep up with her brisk walk pace. "I don't know…she's just...I don't know. I want to, but I-I'm always nervous w-when I talk to her."

Fia rolled her eyes as she opened the exit into the starboard hallway that ran the length of the ship. "You're nervous when you talk to _everyone_ , Kan."

She kept walking down the hall and did her best not to lose her temper as Kan continued to follow her. "You don't t-think she's…w-with anyone…do you?"

"How am I supposed to know the answer to that?" she replied, still not looking at him as she pressed on. "And I really hope you're not suggesting what I think you are."

"But she and I were friends," Kan reminded her. "We grew up on the _Rayya_ together."

Fia picked up the pace, trying to escape him as more quarians walked past them in transit to their destination. "I don't know what you want me to tell you."

He struggled to keep up, as he was not in nearly as good of shape as she was. "B-But I just want to-,"

"Anto!" Fia called out in recognition, and a larger quarian, dressed red and back, turned toward her up ahead.

He waved, almost running towards her. "Fia, there you are!" he shouted back over the increasing noise from other quarians conversing. As soon as they were near enough, they both hugged for a moment before pulling away. "I figured Admiral Gerrel would put you on maintenance this early in the morning."

She chuckled, mostly from the relief that she wouldn't have to listen to Kan anymore, who had disappeared when she checked to see him. "You know Admiral Gerrel. Not a day goes by when he's not asking for me."

"For good reason, mind you," Anto mused. "It'd be a shame if someone of your talents would go to waste."

Fia blushed and was lucky that her mask was able to conceal it. "You're just flirting with me again."

Anto shrugged. "Possibly, but I'm sure you've become very accustomed to it by now."

It was subtle, but he was still flirting. "Nice try. Now, are you going to take me to breakfast before we go through the Mass Relay, just like you promised?"

"Nothing like a fine meal before heading to war, yes?" he nodded.

The Mess Hall was close by, and the massive area of the ship served as a main hub of the entire ship. Hundreds of quarians were already inside, either sitting at the set-up tables or scrounging through the trade heap on the opposite side of the hall. The Migrant Fleet had no currency, not even a barter system. Quarians had little personal belongings in order to conserve space, the most valuable resource on the flotilla, so anything not wanted was dropped off at the trade heap for someone else who needed it.

Food was mostly grown on the Liveships, but some could be picked up from various trade ports across the galaxy. Due to their dextro-protein diets, they relied mostly on turian cuisine, but more often than not their food was simple; alright-tasting paste that had everything needed to survive. Introducing food through filters was far easier as a paste anyhow.

Anto lead Fia through the crowd of people until they reached a table for four that was already halfway occupied. She recognized both of them, almost freezing in her tracks.

Admiral Tali'Zorah waved to her. "Fia!" she recognized. "Over here!"

Anto pulled her along, even though she was still struggling to walk on her own. Next to Tali sat Kibo'Xen vas Normandy, the half-brother she had met a few months ago…and she had been trying her best to avoid him as much as possible. She called it nerves, but it was worse than that. No matter how many times she ran it through in her head, she had no idea what to say to him when they met.

Now she would have to come up with something.

As they both sat down, Anto was already presenting him. "Fia, this is Ki-,"

"I-I know who he is," Fia cut him off, her eyes looking away as she tried to fight off the awkwardness of the situation.

Kibo was fighting the same thing, as he hadn't been able to come up with something to say to his half-sister either. The stories he had heard about her seemed slightly exaggerated, adopting a similar theme that she was the most lethal warrior in the flotilla, and if she was angered enough she could tear out a bulkhead with her bare hands.

Needless to say, with a backstory such as that it was easy to be intimidated.

He had already met Anto'Faro vas Neema, who's charisma was unlike anything he had ever witnessed in someone, and his reason for doing so materialized.

Tali, sitting beside Kibo, nudged him. "Don't you want to say something?"

Suddenly he was spurred into action, clearing his throat. "Nice to meet you," he greeted, holding out his hand. Fia hesitated for a moment, but eventually returned his offer. "I guess I'm your half-brother."

Fia nodded as they shook, pulling their hands back. "I'm surprised you survived your mission."

Kibo scoffed. "So am I. It wasn't easy, I can guarantee you that."

The conversation then came to a grinding halt, drowned out by nodding heads from the both of them, retreating to others sitting around the table.

"What do you guys think about going to war?" Anto asked. "Well shit, _you_ actually have a say in the matter, Admiral," he motioned towards Tali.

She sighed. "I don't know if I should talk about it…but I voted against it. I'm worried the Fleet will be destroyed in the process. I want our homeworld back, believe me…but at what cost?"

"The geth are entrenched," Fia spoke up. "It'll take a lot to drive them from Rannoch."

"Well, that's what you're here for," Anto said. "Chase those metal bastards off our homeworld, and then drinks are on me."

Kibo narrowed his eyes. "Not all of those 'metal bastards' want war with the quarians, Anto. They've lived there for 300 years, and many call it their home."

There was a silence around the table as Kibo and Anto were suddenly locked in a stare, and Tali gave him a slight nudge. "Remember what we talked about…with the whole 'geth are misunderstood' argument?"

Anto was unsure as how to react to a quarian who sympathized with the geth, so anger reigned supreme. "You're new here, so I'll let that slide."

Kibo stared, and then burst into a fit of laughter. "Are you _serious_?" he laughed. "He's _threatening_ me?"

Anto was suddenly serious. "If you know what's good for you, you'll take my advice when I say geth lovers _disappear_ around here."

"You'll do no such thing," Tali made threateningly clear. "If anyone does anything to Kibo'Xen, they'll answer to the Board, and to _me_."

Anto backed down, tipping his head. "As you wish, Admiral. I went too far."

Kibo grimaced to himself. Anto wasn't the first two-faced bastard he'd dealt with, masking extremism behind a smile, and he wouldn't be the last he imagined. Tali was going to be upset with him for sympathizing with the geth after she told him not to express it, but he wasn't going to let empty threats silence him.

"Quite brilliant," Fia mocked, looking towards Anto. "Threatening my brother right in front of me."

He raised his hands defensively. "I wasn't-,"

"Can we just stop talking about this, _please?_ " Tali insisted, and the table came to a brutal silence, until Fia turned back to Kibo.

"That reminds me. Moth-, excuse me, _Admiral Xen_ wants us to meet her on the _Moreh_ before the flotilla jumps through the Relay," she said. "She has your suit ready. I can lead you there, if you wish."

Kibo hesitated for a moment, remembering his mother's odd behavior months ago, and his paranoia told him this was a set up. But so far, Fia had never given him a deceptive impression, so he nodded.

"Alright, let's go then," Kibo agreed, but turned to Tali as he rose to his feet. "Is that okay?"

Tali nodded. "Of course. I have Admiral business anyway. I'll see you later, and hopefully in a nicer suit."

Kibo scoffed. "You're telling me," before they shared a quick hug.

* * *

James Vega always thought himself to be just a soldier, a good one at that. He prided himself as being one of the best, until the Fehl Prime incident that he tried his best to forget. After an experience like that, he wasn't quite sure how good he really was anymore. Days seemed to drag on, the voices of everyone he was forced to let die on that Collector Ship filling in the quiet phases.

Combat drowned it out, made things clearer in his head again. The great part about being a subordinate was the privilege of being able to put your head down and shoot…no thoughts, no overly complicated ideas, just you and your gun.

He wiped the dust off his N7 Typhoon with a gloved hand, his blue-gray armor rubbing together as he did so. The shuttle they were taking down to Hagalaz wasn't impressive, but their reports were confirmed regarding no enemy presence in the area, so it got the job done. Although, he wasn't exactly sure _where_ they were going to find Dr. T'Soni. As far as he knew, Hagalaz was a gas giant, completely incapable of sustaining life.

Honestly, he still wasn't sure why _he_ had been chosen for this mission. The Doctor, Captain Shepard, and Chief Williams were all former _Normandy_ crew, so to say he felt out of place was an understatement. He wasn't complaining, especially since his squadmates were very femininely eye-catching, but he wasn't sure he deserved it. Ashley Williams and Diana Shepard both reported directly to Admiral Anderson, which was intimidating, let alone the fact that Diana was one of the best the N7 program had to offer.

"You alright, Lieutenant?" Ashley asked, taking note to his unfocused demeanor. Her armor was a much darker blue, ideal for blending into darkness while still maintaining some artistic value. He met her eyes as he looked up, filled with some kind of determination he hadn't witnessed before.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just anxious to get moving," James replied.

"Ever been out this far in the Terminus systems?" she asked, trying to make conversation.

He nodded. "Uh huh, you?"

Ashley shook her head, fiddling with her Avenger assault rifle. "I was assigned to the Traverse, but Anderson never sent me out beyond that. Farthest I've ever been was Ilos, but that was with Shepard," she paused, looking back to see Diana armoring up. "The Commander."

"Right," James noted. "I take it the two of you know each other well then? You and Diana."

Ashley looked away for a moment as the scars of Virmire returned. She had never seen Diana crack before then, and after Kaidan died, she was never the same. The Captain could hardly look at her, let alone talk to her without becoming upset. Ashley held no ill-will towards her, but the way she had treated her since hadn't warranted any goodwill either.

She turned back to James. "You could say that."

Diana walked out, clad in her black and red N7 armor and M-11 Wraith shotgun in hand. "Get ready to move. We're about to dock with the Shadow Broker ship."

James nodded, rising to his feet and unfolding his Typhoon. The weapon was heavy, as it was designed originally as a mounted weapon, but the damage it caused was well worth it.

The shuttle shook as the airlock linked with the docking tube, and a mechanical noise could be heard on the other side as it locked into place. After a few moments, the light above the exit door turned green, and Diana pressed for the door to open. The tube was dark and rusted slightly, as if it hadn't been used much in its long existence. Diana stepped out and headed down, followed by James and Ashley. The sounds around the ship were odd, as it was likely unfamiliar technology, and smelled old.

As they exited the docking tube, Liara was waiting there for them. Her white and blue combat lab coat covered most of her body, only leaving her head uncovered. Her blue skin and blue eyes gave James a feeling of comfort, not of a Shadow Broker. To say she wasn't what he expected would be an understatement.

"Diana, Ashley, it's good to see you again," Liara greeted, looking as if she was in a hurry. "Thank you for coming."

"Good to see you, Shadow Broker," Diana smiled.

"I'm impressed, Liara," Ashley admitted. "Never thought I'd see you set up like this."

Liara blushed slightly. "Well, it hasn't been easy," she admitted. "I'm still getting used to my new job, and with what's happened."

Diana motioned towards James. "This is Lieutenant James Vega. He's here to help."

James held out his hand, and Liara shook it. "Nice to meet you, Doc."

She seemed as if she recognized him. "You were the one who helped bring Shepard back to Earth. Tell me, is he alright?"

"How do you-," then he remembered who she was. " _Right_. Yeah, he seems a little shaken, but we've got him a nice set up. He'll be fine."

Liara looked toward the floor dejectedly. "I see. I meant to come see him, but…well with Cerberus now, I have to make sure my assets stay out of their hands." She then began to walk, leading them out of the loading area.

"Hackett mentioned you were being targeted," Diana said as they walked. "Do you know how long we have?"

"A few hours at the most. My agents have tracked Cerberus cruisers only a few systems away. The Hourglass Nebula is dense, so they have to navigate around to suboptimal paths through," Liara revealed. "I've packed most of my essential equipment into a shuttle, but I was hoping for some help with the last few. Once Cerberus does arrive, we can hold off the marines before we can make our escape."

"How do you plan on getting past the cruisers?" Ashley asked.

Liara looked back and smiled. "I have an idea for that."

With that, they reached the control room and set to work.

* * *

The _Moreh_ was different from the _Neema_ in many ways, most notably how it looked and felt much more advanced. Everything was cutting edge, reminding Kibo much more of the _Normandy_ , which was a nice touch.

Admiral Xen's fleet was not much of a fleet, as it only was composed of a few research vessels, but she was the head of the quarian research division as Fia had explained along the way. All advancements in warfare, ship works, and agriculture were her doing. While she was more famous for her commitment to science rather than her intelligence, she had accomplished a great many things for the fleet.

"She's not going to try to dissect me, is she?" Kibo asked as they approached the main lab.

Fia laughed, feeling more comfortable around her half-brother. "I won't let her, don't worry."

"That's not a no," Kibo said worriedly.

Fia approached the white door with only a small window to peer through. On the side was a hand and retinal scanner, which she activated. Her hand flashed green once it had finished scanning, as did the interface going over her eyes, and then followed up with a microphone.

"Fia'Xen," she said, and after a few moments, the door finally unlocked.

"Wow," Kibo huffed. "Expecting trouble?"

Fia shook her head. "Mother always liked her privacy."

 _A little too much_. Kibo thought to himself.

Fia opened the door, and Kibo's first sight was the amount of lab tables and data screens that were spread out around the room. There were a few quarian scientists inside, some peeking through microscopes, and some running scans on contained geth parts. Fia let the door shut, and then he felt her hand on his back.

"This way," she said, leading him along the path away from the scientists working. Eventually, they came to a side lab, where he saw Admiral Xen talking to another quarian through a glass sliding door.

"I want it done by tomorrow," he caught her saying as the door opened. "I'd rather not have to listen to Gerrel about how slow we're progressing."

"I'm sure he'd under-," the other male quarian began.

"Tomorrow," Xen made clear, and then noticed Kibo and Fia waiting outside. "Get to it."

As the man left the room, Xen waved them in. "Come in, both of you, please." Fia was quick to oblige, but Kibo stepped in just enough for the door to close behind him, and he crossed his arms.

Xen set down the datapad she was holding onto the lab table. "I meant to call for you earlier, Kibo. I'm sorry but I've been-,"

"Why did you lie to me?" Kibo asked, cutting her off. "Why did you tell me Admiral Zorah wanted to kill me, and try to turn me against Tali'Zorah?"

Xen paused for a moment, her eyes looking down at the table. "I don't know."

"What do you _mean_ you don't know?!" Kibo shouted. "I trusted you, and you lied to my face. Why?!"

"Because I was upset!" she shouted back, her hands tightly gripping the table in front of her. "I hated Rael'Zorah for taking you away from me. My own son!"

Fia's eyes widened. "Mother, is that true? You lied to him?"

Xen sighed, and then paced away from the table towards a control panel on the wall. After a few seconds, the door behind Kibo sealed tightly, and mental alarms went off in his mind.

"What are you-," Kibo began, but then froze as Xen took her mask from her face.

"Everything I'm about to tell you is the truth, and I swear on my life by it," she said, her face still towards the wall. "You deserve as much." She turned, and Kibo saw her gray-pink skin exposed, the weak glowing light of her eyes and short, black hair. Now, he was able to tell that she was defiantly in her late 40s.

He heard another decompression of air, and Fia had removed her mask as well. Her face was almost the same, just a much younger and softer version. "The room is sealed," Fia said. "Disinfected."

Kibo didn't follow suit, just turning his head back towards Xen. "Tell me everything."

Daro'Xen, member of the Admiralty Board of the Migrant Fleet, took a deep breath and began.

"When I discovered I was carrying a child, I wanted out. I was only 21 years old, and I was ascending the ranks of the Research Division. I was the top student and fifth in line to take over as the head, so I thought that having you would derail my career. My first instinct was to have you aborted, but in the third month, you began developing abnormally. I was intrigued, so I decided to wait out your growth, and by the eighth month we confirmed that your immune system had mutated. It was stronger than any quarian in history, even more than those that walked the land of Rannoch three centuries ago."

Kibo kept his arms crossed. "So, you decided to keep me."

"Yes," she said. "I'll admit, I wanted to use you to develop an enhancement for all quarians, and I don't blame your father for taking that the wrong way. He wouldn't speak to me after that, saying that I wanted to dissect you out of the womb."

"Did you?" Kibo asked. He could see the look on Xen's face this time, and she didn't answer right away. Instead, her expression was filled with shame until she eventually looked away.

"I'm done lying to you, Kibo," she promised, and then turned back towards him. "Yes, I did. I told myself it was for the advancement of our race, that if I could just sacrifice one of my own kin, then the quarians would be stronger than ever. At the time, it seemed worth it.

"And then your father took you away only months after you were born. By then, it was too late to tell him I could never bring myself to do that to my own son."

No tears flowed from her eyes, but Kibo could see the sincerity in them. No one would ever admit to feeling something so terrible as a lie. He had every reason to believe her up to this point.

"Rael'Zorah helped him take you, so I loathed him for it. I swore to myself that I would seek a just revenge. I had nights when I considered taking…," she paused, looking away again. "I considered taking his own child and spacing her out the airlock, just so he would know the pain a mother felt when she never thought she'd see her son again."

Kibo's hand closed into a fist, his grip threatening to break the bones of his fingers. That was _Tali_ she was talking about. "What stopped you?"

A tear finally broke through her eye, and she tried to wipe it away before they could see it. "You did. I thought to myself, if you're truly my son, then you would've found a way to survive. Evolution had declared it so, and I was not ready to give up on you yet. So, I secluded myself to my research. I became cold and ruthless in my study to dominate the geth, but you were the bright spot that I hid away. When Fia was born, I promised I would do better. She would be the epitome of quarian excellence, and the greatest to ever walk the ships of the flotilla."

Kibo looked towards Fia, who was trying not to cry. Xen continued, "I strived to do better, to _be_ better…because I _failed_ you, Kibo…and I vowed to never fail again."

Her head drooped down towards the floor. "I didn't realize this until you set foot on the Migrant Fleet two weeks ago. Everything I had done, no matter how terrible, was to avenge my failure to my own son…because I didn't feel like I was good enough for him."

Kibo could feel his emotions beginning to turn, his stubborn distrust for his mother beginning to fade away with each truth she revealed. Fia walked over to her mother, wrapping her arm around her shoulders.

"I didn't take Rael's child, because there's nothing more important than seeing our children live in peace on Rannoch, not my research, not our advancements…just to see my children proud, knowing that their mother did all she could."

Kibo snapped just then. His hand pulled his mask from his face, and he approached his family, with the look of love in both of their eyes.

"I forgive you, Mother."

* * *

 **Very important chapter there. I know it may seem like Admiral Xen may be out of character, but I would argue that having a child would change her perspective. No matter how twisted or sinister someone may be, their children will always matter to them, and I hope I was able to emulate that here.**

 **Action is going to pick up next, as the shadow of the Reapers will begin to fall upon the galaxy. If you enjoyed, please follow/fav and leave a review! Thanks for reading!**


	12. Through the Wormhole

**Happy N7 Day!**

 **Through the Wormhole**

Tali's eyes were yet to close for the night, as she had spent the last few hours frustratingly tossing and turning in the bed. She chalked it up to not having her suit on, but the case was usually the _opposite_ , which made her lean more towards anxiety. The thought that once she awoke her people would be at war with the geth ate at her. Her mind ran through many possible endings to the conflict, and all she could see was mass, unnecessary death.

She couldn't shake the thought that Kibo may be one of them.

He had come back to her emotionally drained, his face red from crying, enough for her to tell through his mask. She spent time listening to his story after that, how Admiral Xen had told him _everything_ at once. It had taken her a bit to actually believe it, but he insisted that Xen hadn't lied to him. She herself had struggled with a long day, the words of Anto's threats stuck in her brain, so they decided to work it out in a Clean Room.

Tali felt partially selfish for taking up Clean Rooms constantly since she had returned, but as an Admiral, she was entitled to her own, so she'd be damned if it had gone to waste. Lovemaking was relatively new to her, but Kibo's Omega experience had helped her pick up the basics quickly. Even so, Kibo had said she was 'naturally freaky' the first time they had engaged, so there was that too.

He was sound asleep beside her, and she could only jealously listen to him as she stared up at the ceiling. It reminded her of the first time she had slept on the _Normandy_ , the quiet keeping her awake many nights in a row. There was always something on her mind, nagging her when her head rested against a pillow, but she had learned to fight past it and get the shut-eye her body needed.

Not tonight.

She pulled the sheets off her, revealing her naked body, and the sudden cold sent shivers through her muscles. The insulation of her suit had also made her much more susceptible to cold than quarians naturally should have issues with. Nonetheless, she forced her body to move, flipping until her feet met the floor and stood. Across from her was the exit door, but next to it was a pole bolted to the wall that had a large blanket hanging from it. Quickly, she grabbed it a wrapped the shield around her body. Almost instantaneously she settled into its embrace, covering her exposed skin.

Looking back, she saw Kibo still lying in the bed, and then found a natural urge to wake him up to go some more rounds. After shaking her head, she resisted her primal impulses. Instead, she paced towards the other side of the room, activating the one-way viewing window to reveal the stars. In the distance she could spot the Mass Relay, emanating the blue glow at the center of its rotating gyro sphere. Through that massive device was the Far Rim system, only one short jump to the Perseus Veil…and Rannoch.

Part of her wanted to rejoice that her people were finally going to try to retake their homeworld. Part of her wanted to cry, knowing millions were going to die before they got there…with the Reapers on the galaxy's edge.

Shepard must be losing his mind, she figured, locked up on Earth while their greatest enemy was preparing to wipe them all from the face of the galaxy.

Her mind chose to cry, a couple of tears finding their way out from under her eyes. Quietly, she sobbed, feeling nothing but utter hopelessness. Seventeen million lives were riding on her, and she knew she couldn't save them. No one could.

It must've been louder and longer than she thought, because someone's arms wrapped around her eventually.

"Hey, hey," she heard in her ear, Kibo's chin resting on her bare shoulder. "Why are you crying?"

Tali tried to wipe the tears from her face, pulling her medium-length black hair back behind her ear and out of her eyes. "I-I don't know if I can-," she started, sniveling, and then turned to Kibo. His eyes had the look of empathetic confusion, and she turned and fell into him, their similar height not allowing her to bury her face into his chest. There she cried, her emotions spilling out through her tears.

Kibo embraced her tightly in understanding, his hand rubbing her back soothingly. "Alright, alright," he said. "Let it out. It's okay."

The new quarian Admiral hadn't cried this way since she was far younger, but this wasn't parental injustice…it was hopeless despair…the thoughts that killed people. Yet, she wasn't alone, and he hadn't asked her why…he just let her decompress.

She wanted to press her lips against his, push his body back onto the bed and go another round, but she knew that was all blatant desperation to forget her worries. Instead, she cried until the feeling had run its course, and they were just left holding each other.

Once she had quieted down, he asked, "What's wrong?"

She didn't answer right away, just kept her chin on his shoulder. "I never wanted to be an Admiral," she whimpered.

Kibo swallowed back his guilt, knowing that he had demanded her appointment, and even if he full-heartedly believed she was the best choice for the job, it may have not been the best choice for _her_. Tali placed too much of a burden on her shoulders, just as she had done with him, and the responsibilities of an Admiral were too great for her to handle.

Yet, he knew she couldn't know that. She needed him to believe in her.

"You're not alone," he eased, pulling her out of the hug so he could look her in the eyes. "You never will be."

She sighed, taking a few deep breaths while he soothingly rubbed her shoulder. Even now, her face was the most beautiful sight in the universe to him. Only a higher power could've crafted her so perfectly, if there was one out there.

"We'll get through this," he promised. "I don't know how, but we will…and once we send the Reapers back to Hell, we'll build that house on Rannoch. We'll invite Shepard, Garrus, Grunt, all of them, and we'll celebrate."

A smile found its way through her expression, and she finally wiped the tears from her eyes. "Hearing it from you…I believe it."

They shared a passionate kiss but did not return to the bed. "Now, I could use some help figuring out how to put my new suit on," Kibo said, motioning towards the back of the room.

Tali smirked, tracing one finger down his chest. "You just want an excuse for me to touch you again."

Kibo cocked his head. "Is that a problem?"

Tali shook her head and gave him a bright smile. "Never."

* * *

Liara was always a control freak, but she didn't let that stop her from asking for help. She was smart enough to know that a situation was too great for her to handle on her own, and this time was no different. Diana, Ashley, and James were the extra boost she needed to finish packing and prepare combat strategies for fending off the inevitable Cerberus boarding parties…who had just jumped out of FTL into orbit above them. Being the Shadow Broker had taught her to always be multiple steps ahead of her opponent, but the Illusive Man was admittedly better than she was at it, unfortunately.

Good thing she enjoyed working under pressure, something she learned from Shepard…someone she desperately wished was here right now.

Setting the thought aside, she focused on the facts. The Shadow Broker ship was not designed to travel through space, but it could function for a brief time if she needed it to. It had been completely evacuated, so even if Cerberus boarded, it would take them a while to find their four-person team, who was exceptionally equipped to fight off plenty troops. However, they could never hold _off_ Cerberus, so her ship was only a liability at this point.

Which was why her idea was going to work.

"I've done some crazy things in my time, but this feels insane," Diana protested, standing behind Liara as she diverted all the ship's power to forward barriers and engines. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"It's our only option," Liara insisted. "They'd never expect it, and we'd be able to use that distraction to escape while they flounder in confusion."

Diana still didn't seem sure, but Ashley pulled her attention away, who was manning the radar. "We have Cerberus boarding craft inbound!"

"How many?" she asked.

"Five contacts, probably holding a dozen soldiers a piece."

Diana grimaced, not liking the numeric odds at play, but then remembered the size of the ship at her disposal. It was likely that Cerberus did not know the exact specs of the ship and would have to divide their forces to search its entirety.

"James, you're with me," she called, walking towards the bridge exit. "Williams, I need you here to help Liara make sure our escape shuttle is ready to go and keep tabs on Cerberus landing spots."

She nodded. "Will do."

James, who had just finished packing the last bit of tech into the shuttle, pulled his Typhoon from his back as he fell in line behind Diana. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"We're giving them a diversion, so Liara can finish prepping the ship."

"For what?"

Diana prepared her black and gold Wraith shotgun. "To collide into the Cerberus cruiser."

* * *

"As soon as the _Neema_ comes out of the relay, you will be dispatched to the surface of Haestrom to deactivate the geth programs before they can warn the others back at the home system," Admiral Gerrel said, pacing in front of five armed quarians. "As Tali'Zorah is an Admiral, she will oversee the operation. Whatever she says, goes."

Kibo was content with that decision, and even if he wasn't, he wouldn't have much choice anyway. Even so, he was in a good mood as his new suit and armor attachments were very much to his liking. Sporting a primary color of black but lined with orange stripes and lights, his armor was taken from the Human System Alliance's N7 Paladin special forces, outfitted for a quarian body. Since there was no need to focus on decontamination systems, those special resources were devoted to gadgets and combat systems. He now had access to Energy Drain, Snap Freeze, Tech Armor, and his favorite, Flamethrower. His mother had spared no amount of expertise and expense in any aspect of it, as his kinetic barriers were twice as strong as his old one, and the interface on his helmet had every bit of information he could ever need.

It was safe to say he felt somewhat invincible.

Tali had received something similar, a black, gold, and purple armored suit that was far more advanced than what she wore during their fight against the Collectors. Kibo had told her that she looked more like a commanding officer with it on, which admittedly helped build her confidence.

"Admiral Xen's counter measure will put the geth units into complete confusion long enough for you to execute your task. As soon as you land, Kan'Jaal will slice into their network and begin the deactivation, while Anto'Faro will turn their own orbital defenses against their program housing superstructure," Gerrel continued. "Fia'Xen, you're the pilot, and Kibo'Xen, you're the big guns. You'll keep any attacking geth off them while they work. Understood?"

Everyone nodded.

Gerrel pointed towards the airlock, leading to the shuttle they would be taking down. "Then good luck. Keelah se'lai."

"Keelah se'lai," everyone except Kibo replied, who was still unaccustomed to the practice. They all filed into the medium-sized shuttle, which was built for two more crewmates, leaving plenty of room for each person to have their own space. Fia'Xen made way towards the cockpit, taking a seat in the pilot's chair. Kibo couldn't help but notice the short katana sheathed behind her back.

Kan settled in around the back, toying with an Arc Pistol, while Anto came in behind Kibo, making sure that his shoulder ran into him as he passed. Kibo just glared at the larger man, and when the airlock closed, the shuttle was overcome with silence.

"You sure you're going to be able to shoot the geth on the surface?" Anto asked, setting down a modified geth spitfire. "Or are you going to be too in love with them to pull the trigger?"

Tali groaned to herself while Kibo scoffed. "I've killed Eclipse Krogan twice your mass, jokester. Shutting you up would be an afterthought."

He narrowed his eyes. "I think we have a traitor in our midst."

Kibo instinctively twitched for a Carnifex Hand Cannon that wasn't on his hip. "You know, maybe I should just let the geth kill you. I think Fia is plenty capable of doing your job anyway. As a matter of fact, I think we all are."

Anto paced towards him. "Outcast."

"Child," Kibo followed up.

Anto crossed his arms, his gaze moving towards Tali, whose eyes looked as if they were boring into his skull. "I think the only reason that you're here is because you're having sex with Admiral Zorah."

Kan's eyes darted around, before his head eventually drooped.

Tali wanted to blast Anto's head to pieces with her shotgun, but she professionally refrained. "That's enough, Anto."

Kibo couldn't see his face, but he knew there was a smug smile behind his mask. "Of course, Admiral. I meant no offense."

"No, no, I think you should be more thankful that she's here," Kibo added. "Because she's the only reason you aren't a crimson stain on the floor of this shuttle."

"No one's killing anyone on my shuttle!" Fia yelled from the cockpit. "Admiral Gerrel would make me clean up the carcass!"

Tali grabbed ahold of Kibo's arm firmly and pulled him away. "Now that that's off each of your chests, can we focus on our mission?"

Anto nodded. "Of course, Admiral."

Kibo was still glaring at him, but another firm tug from Tali made him drop it. "Sure," he finally said. If he were on Omega, Anto would've had his body scraped off the floor by Aria's henchmen after he accused him of treason, even more so after bringing Tali into the argument.

As Tali pulled him away, she suggested, "Just go sit in the cockpit with Fia. Stay away from Anto."

It wasn't a suggestion, and he knew it, so he just nodded and did as he was told. This was his first real mission as one of the quarian people, and while he may have leverage on the Admirals, he needed to play his cards right. Killing a squadmate would not be ideal for his continual safety on the Fleet.

He took the co-pilot seat next to Fia, who was slouched back and waiting for the _Neema_ to be given the all-clear signal to break from the dock once they were through the relay, which floated and glowed in the viewport as they approached.

She kicked up her feet onto the dash. "Don't listen to Anto. Sometimes he thinks he's tougher than he really is."

Kibo's eyes slanted behind his mask. "Sometimes?"

Fia said nothing more, not knowing what to tell him that would make the situation any better. Instead, she activated her omni-tool to sync it with the ship's technical readouts, and then sent them to her HUD.

Kibo leaned back in the chair. "So why is everyone afraid of you?"

Fia didn't stop her prep work. "I wouldn't say people are _afraid_ of me…I think they're just aware of my capabilities."

"Is that why you carry a katana? Are you some kind of martial-arts master?"

"No," she denied, and stopped for a moment. Her three-fingered hand reached out, and Kibo swore he saw a button on the far side of the dash press itself. When he looked back at Fia, her body had a slight blue glow to it until fading away completely.

"My _god_ ," Kibo gasped, still using the human slander he learned on Omega. "You're a fucking biotic."

His half-sister shut down her omni-tool and sat back in the chair as the Mass Relay took up the entirety of the viewport now. "The equivalent of what the human N7 program calls a 'fury' to be exact. I can conjure annihilation fields as well as throws and warps. The sword is a… _side passion_ , you could say."

Kibo scoffed. "So not only do I _have_ a half-sister, but she's the first quarian biotic in existence…that's badass."

Fia looked his way, and he could tell she shot him a smile before the intercom flared to life. " _All crew of the Neema, prepare for Mass Relay jump._ "

She sat back up straight in her chair and had her hands ready at the controls. "Into the wormhole we go."

* * *

James shielded his eyes as another bright biotic discharge raced across the room before impacting with a Cerberus soldier, their body rag-dolled and tossed away until it ran into something. Diana emerged from the glow and unleashed another wave of energy, knocking the surrounding enemies off their feet. With a smirk of satisfaction, James pulled the trigger on his typhoon, and hundreds of bullets poured from the barrel, ripping though Cerberus barriers and armor. The incapacitated grunts were helplessly gunned down from the onslaught.

Diana charged forward into the forward hallway where the Cerberus boarding party was filing through, clobbering the nearest soldier in the skull with the butt of her Wraith before turning to pump a shell straight into another's chest. With a last heave, she unleashed a lethal biotic shockwave through the hallway and forced the door shut, hearing shocked screams of terror as it ripped through their ranks.

She blasted the control panel to seal the door, getting a few lung-filling breaths in. "Williams, how's it looking?" she keyed into her comm. "Vega and I just sealed the main entrance to the bridge for now."

Diana could hear the sound of pounding at the other end of the line. " _The shuttle's prepped and we're just about to break atmosphere,_ " Ashley reported. " _But the main boarding party has almost breached the back entrance_."

"Acknowledged, we'll be there as soon as we can," Diana replied, and then cut the transmission. James looked almost unscathed, while she looked down to see her armor was plastered with crimson stains of blood from where she had brutally beaten down those unfortunate enough to get close to her.

James' eyebrow perked up behind his helmet. "Is this normal for you?"

Diana shrugged. "This is an easy day."

" _Right_ …of course," James almost rolled his eyes, but knew better.

Without another word, Diana began jogging towards the bridge. "Let's get out of here, Lieutenant."

"Right behind you."

* * *

Liara tried not to smile as she finally finished calculating the collision course with the nearest Cerberus cruiser. With all the things that the Illusive Man had been able to be one step ahead on, _this_ had to take him by surprise. Even so, she wondered if Shepard would approve of destroying the ship he and her had spent so much time taking over.

Knowing him, he would've left the decision in her hands.

She couldn't describe how desperately she wanted to see him again. It had been since he told her he was off to the galactic core, where it was very likely that she would never see him again afterwards. She had spent the following days afterwards focused on her work as the Shadow Broker, trying her best to keep her mind off him, but she couldn't help it. He had meant so much to her ever since he had freed her from the Prothean security system and saved her life, and after he had already died once when the _Normandy_ was destroyed, she couldn't bear to lose him again.

He survived, and if she survived this, she would be able to see him again. The Shadow Broker's ship was a small price to pay.

The console beeped as she keyed in the final command. "It's done!" she shouted to Ashley, who had her eyes focused on the door behind Liara that was groaning under the strain of the Cerberus battering rams. "Two minutes until impact!"

"Finally!" Ashley shouted back, taking a few steps back from the door. "Because this door isn't going to last much longer."

Liara turned to the door and conjured a biotic stasis field, helping hold the metal in place as it took another hit from the rams. The strain on her focus was manageable, but she definitely couldn't hold it for an extended period.

 _Warning, collision course imminent. Evacuate as soon as possible._

"Where's Diana?" Liara asked, grunting as the door took another hit.

"Almost here," Ashley replied, standing alongside her with her gun pointed. "The shuttle's ready to go."

After a few seconds, Diana and James came running onto the bridge, and just as Liara was beginning to heave from the strain of maintaining the field.

"James, plant a charge on that door, and we're getting out of here," Diana ordered, placing a firm hand on Liara's shoulder for support. "You hanging in there, Doctor?"

Liara huffed. "I would prefer a fast exit sometime soon."

"Oh, you'll get one," James promised, letting the explosive cling to the wall magnetically. "Charge set!"

Diana looked to the escape hatch, which was where the shuttle was docked underneath the ship. "Alright, Ashley, James, open that hatch and head down. Make sure that shuttle is ready to move as soon as we follow back up."

"Will do," Ashley acknowledged, just as a loud clench of metal sounded. Taking a knee, she turned the handle until the hatch hissed open, and then slid down the latter, James following close behind.

With them gone, and the charge's warning beeps beginning to speed up, Diana gave Liara an indicative smack on the back. "Cut the field, go!"

The asari dropped the field and trudged as fast as she could to the hatch, grabbing ahold of the ladder and sliding down. Once she was gone, Diana prepared for her own descent, just as the Cerberus troops batted down the door.

"Holy shit, that's Shepard!" one of them shouted, and she just gave them a two-fingered salute and smirk before closing the hatch above her, just as the charge exploded, incinerating many of the troops that had barged through the door.

Diana slid down the ladder, and once her feet hit the inside of the shuttle, she closed the entrance hatch. "All clear! Go, go, go!"

Liara, in the pilot's seat, disengaged from the airlock and gunned the engines, already calculating an FTL course for the Mass Relay. As they pulled away, too fast for Cerberus to realize they were already gone, she activated the rear cam, displaying the battle behind. The Shadow Broker ship collided with the Cerberus Cruiser, exploding as they careened into each other. The fusion core detonation took a few other cruisers with it, and Liara could only smile as the FTL computer gave her a green light.

"Goodbye, Hagalaz," Liara said, before the shuttle warped from visible space and rocketed towards the Mass Relay.

* * *

 **I know it took a long time to get this out, but I've never been this busy in my life. Working a job and attending a university doesn't exactly allot me any free time, unfortunately. That said, I'm happy to be back for N7 Day! I don't know exactly when I'll be releasing another chapter, but I'd expect January 2019 just to be safe. As always, if you enjoyed, please follow/fav and leave a review! Thanks for reading!**


	13. UPDATE

**UPDATE**

 _In a restless search for new opportunities and new ways of living_ _  
_ _The mystery and the promise of distant horizons_ _  
_ _Always have called men forward_

Hey guys.

I know it's been since N7 Day 2018 I last updated this story, and I could rack off excuses as to why, but I'll save your time. Life has continued, and my time on this site has not kept up.

So instead let me start by giving you the sit-rep. The next chapter is called "Parabellum", which is Latin for "Prepare for War", so that can give you a good idea as to where I'm going from here. Yes, I still have plans for this story, but too much time has passed for me to just continue like business is usual. Lucky for me, I left off at a somewhat conclusive point. My exposition for Part II is essentially finished, so course corrections with plot should be easy to implement.

With one wrinkle.

I finally broke down and gave Andromeda a chance, and I never thought I'd ever say this, but I loved it. Yes, the writing and animations can be sub-par to appalling, but my god was the combat adrenaline-inducing; on a level I've never experienced in a video game. I played as a female Ryder, and it was easy to laugh at the comical casual responses she dished out through the journey and made up for some of the less-than-interesting companions you carried along, aside from Drack and Jaal.

Anyway, I want to incorporate Ryder and some Andromeda characters into the story I have, throwing them into the rising war with the Geth and the Quarians, as well as the events of Mass Effect 3. Alec Ryder actually makes this easy to accomplish, but that isn't the issue.

It's going to happen. Ryder _will_ be in this story, but I've now got to balance a whopping four lead characters, being Shepard, Diana Shepard, Kibo'Xen and now her. Even though Shepard has maintained a mostly supporting role in _Restitution_ thus far, I cannot steal protagonism from him. In the end, Shepard has to be the one to press the proverbial button. This isn't a problem for Kibo, who has already settled in under Shepard quite cozily. The conflict now comes between Ryder and Diana, who essentially fit the same shoes: seconds to Shepard.

Ryder can have a student-mentor relationship with Shepard, but that pulls her away from the theatre I want her in, and in my opinion, Ryder under a "lower-tier" Diana Shepard wouldn't be as meaningful for her character. It's hard to explain.

Long story short, I don't know what to do with Diana, or "femshep" if that's easier for you. That's where I need your help. If you have ideas, please share them with me, and I will do my best to get this story back afloat. I think I've established a nice base here, and it has the most follows and favorites of all the stories I've put together, so I feel like I owe it to you to keep it moving.

So PM me any time, and in the meantime I'll keep writing.

Thanks for listening.

 _In a search that has continued for centuries_ _  
_ _Some far, distant view_ _  
_ _With its promise of the unseen_ _  
_ _And its promise of the unknown_ _  
_ _Has forever fathered the impulse_ _  
_ _To seek for new things in new places_ _  
_ _New horizons_


End file.
